What is wrong with our country's economy? Analysts in Pakistan have begun to almost routinely respond to this question not by identifying economic factor(s) that can indubitably be held responsible for the ongoing malaise, and there are several ranging from corruption, poor governance, flawed expenditure priorities, but by citing what many regard as a political factor: the rise in terror attacks in this country and our war against terror that has cost us an estimated Rs 2.08 trillion in the past five years, according to a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report.
This massive outlay has further disabled the Pakistan government from investing adequately in development projects, which compelled us to going on the IMF programme, and which, in turn, has burdened the poor through increased utility rates and a reduction in subsidies. The net result: the recruitment drive of cash flush Taliban was rendered all the more effective.
But the tide clearly has turned against the Taliban when their challenge to the Constitution and their insistence on interpreting the Holy Quran along the lines of the Afghan Taliban sent shockwaves throughout Pakistan. And, perhaps, the clincher for most of us came with the escalation in suicide attacks that led to considerable loss of innocent lives and property (public and private), eroded local and foreign investor confidence that shrivelled economic activity, and fuelled unemployment and inflation. The military action, once it was launched, was welcomed by all. Many argue that it was not the government that played a pivotal role in selling the war on terror to the people of Pakistan but, ironically, the Taliban themselves.
It is by now widely acknowledged that the Taliban have been routed through military action in South Waziristan, though their recent resurgence, if the recent escalation in the number of suicide attacks is taken as a yardstick, is clearly visible. The question facing the country today is an obvious one in the aftermath of the twin suicide blasts at the shrine of Data Gunjbakhsh in Lahore: was this an attack launched from the province most afflicted by the menace and where military action is ongoing, was it launched from North Waziristan, which would be what the Americans may ideally wish for, or is its source within Punjab?
Intelligence agencies, the armed forces, Ulema in the aftermath of the attack on Data Darbar and the PPP-led government source the attack to the Punjabi Taliban. The Punjab government is vociferous in its denial and challenges the very use of the term Punjabi Taliban as ethnically motivated.
The origin of the term Punjabi Taliban, according to senior analysts, cannot be sourced to prominent anti-Punjab politicians in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa (KP) or indeed an Interior Minister known for launching an attack against the Punjab government in general and the Sharif Brothers in particular whenever he receives instructions from President Zardari. The Punjabi Taliban refers to a term that was reportedly coined by the Taliban themselves to distinguish those hailing from Punjab as identified by the language they spoke.
The difference of opinion between the federal and the Punjab government over the use of the term Punjabi Taliban was once again reiterated and the resulting exchange of verbal attacks was as follows: calls were made by the Tahaffuz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat, a consortium of religious clerics from different Sunni organisations for the resignation of Punjab Home Minister Rana Sanaullah - no doubt the pictorial proof of his closeness to some banned outfits was in mind when this call was made; Rehman Malik met several Ulema leaders, his standard response when dealing with terror attacks; Tahirul Qadri accused parliamentarians of protecting terrorists and the Punjab government set up task forces at district level to crack down on seventeen banned organizations that were advised to establish close links with intelligence officers stationed in the districts; in defence of their Law Minister the two Sharif Brothers blamed those intelligence agencies that come under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry, headed by Rehman Malik, for not sharing critical information; the PPP, in turn, defended Malik by citing the historical nexus between the Punjabi religious fundamentalist groups and the PML (N) and once again reference was made to Rana Sanaullah's photograph with the banned outfit leaders; Shahbaz Sharif further escalated the war of words and called for Malik's resignation; and Malik, not to be outdone in the word game, requested the Punjab Chief Minister to investigate if he (Malik) had given the order not to share terror-related information with Punjab and if he could not provide any proof then to resign himself.
Again the peace-maker Prime Minister Gilani stepped in and calmed strung political nerves. He held a meeting with all the chief ministers present as well as relevant security agencies and, in its aftermath, Rehman Malik inexplicably and unbelievably claimed that he had no differences with the PML (N) leadership. The resultant press conference saw Kaira and Malik more focused on defusing tension with the PML (N) than with appeasing public concerns over the possibility of yet another attack in future. The meeting reportedly agreed to review the National Counter Terrorism Authority, seen by all as a means to deal with the claim by the Punjab government that Taliban are not Punjab specific, to make anti-terrorist laws more effective whatever that was supposed to imply, and to carry out Madressah reforms.
But there was a difference in reaction after the attacks on the Lahore shrine. The Ulema showed greater unity than after past attacks. Around 43 Ulema met in Islamabad, including representatives from Jamia Asharfia, Jamia Darul Khair, Tehrik-i-Ulema Pakistan, Jamia Naeemia, Jamiat Ulema Ahe-Hadith, and Jamia Mohammadia. The subsequent press release was, however, not ground breaking in that it condemned the attack, declared the perpetrators non-Muslim and called for action to preclude any further attacks. Public response too was different than in the past and there were widespread protests throughout the country, including Karachi and Hyderabad as well as Dadu Noshero Feroz and other cities.
In spite of this major shift, the politicians appear to have clearly moved on. The Punjab Assembly passed a resolution against journalists not for telecasting sensitive pictures of the attack, but for raising the issue of fake degrees.
The President went off to China, Nawaz Sharif went off to London without specifying a return date and the Prime Minister denied knowledge of a Law Ministry appointee's attempt to file a petition in the court that the Prime Minister's decision to restore the judiciary with an executive order was simply not kosher. Nawaz Sharif wrote a letter to the Prime Minister just before his departure - he is an avid letter writer in spite of significant advances in the communication channels between the two men - and proposed a conference, a rather surprising solution given that if the two parties cannot agree to refer to the Taliban in southern Punjab, then how are they going to agree on a joint strategy to fight terrorism.
Has the PPP-led government and the opposition misread public opinion and should they not be wary of an increasing role that Ulema may play in organising countrywide protests against failure to tackle terror attacks in future? Or have we the public moved on but our concerns may resurface with greater force after the next horrific attack, which no one will or can guarantee is not imminent? One hopes that the politicians are sensitive to the fallout of inaction and preclude the emergence of a situation similar to Algeria in 1991 where public disgruntlement with mainstream parties led to an electoral victory of religious based parties.