Support the Army

The full-fledged Army operation in Swat has been long in coming. It has been embarked upon only after all efforts to convince the Taliban to give up their illegal activities had failed. The Nizam-e-Adal was promulgated in the hope they would lay down arms as they had promised. Yet, as soon as this was done, they embarked on a tour of conquest of Buner and Shangla. The government was left with no choice but to exert its writ and get the many districts under their control vacated by them.

Apart from the government, the Army also appears to be in earnest this time. It seems to me they realize that this Frankenstein has become so big that if it is not stopped in its tracks it will devour them also. The quick successes of the Army in clearing the Taliban from Mingora and elsewhere provide proof, if such were needed, that on previous occasions the armed forces were not serious in their objective of eliminating the Taliban.

In order to minimize civilian casualties, the whole of the population of Swat has been evacuated leading to a colossal humanitarian disaster; it can be worthwhile only if it helps the Army to get the area totally cleared of the Taliban, so that the displaced persons can be resettled in it. If now, having done all that, the operation is aborted, it will be playing into the militants' hands, as they will immediately take over the area again. If the humanitarian disaster is a tragedy, aborting the operation before its successful conclusion will be a calamity. Therefore, while calling for steps to ensure that there are a minimum number of civilian casualties, we should fully support our Army and its operation. In this connection it is disconcerting to point out that no one from among the civilians went to the recent funeral of a martyred Army officer held in Lahore. It should not be like this; on such solemn occasions we should attend in the largest numbers, to convey our appreciation of and gratefulness for their supreme sacrifice.

A friend who has returned from Swat told me that the IDPs are dead against the militants, and lay stress on the need for the Army to eliminate this menace once and for all. Similarly, Mr. Saleem Safi has stated that "The people of Malakand have started understanding who is responsible for their terrible plight. I have heard the views of thousands of them. They blame the Taliban twice as much as they criticize the rulers and the generals. The days are gone when they used to pay respect to a mujahid. Their present silence is out of fear of the religious elements. When the fear factor is removed in due course of time, so much hatred will surface, not only for the Taliban but for anyone and anything connected with religion, that the world will be dumbfounded. Many religious leaders are considering this wave of Talibanization as the beginning of an Islamic revolution. They are under the misconception that now the whole of the Pakhtoon belt will come under their influence in the name of islam. However, I am foreseeing the rise of secular and anti-religious feelings in this region. It is possible that we may witness long queues for getting beards shaved as were seen after the fall of the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Because of the brutal manner in which the female members of the families of the Pakhtuns have been treated in the name of religion, it is possible they may start demolishing mosques and madrassahs". In this connection it should be remembered that in medieval Europe it were the brutal religious wars between the different churches, and the burning of innocent young women as witches that led to the estrangement of large numbers of ordinary folk from religion.

It should be understood that God willing the success of the military operation will not only be against the Taliban but against criminality in general. The days of anyone and everyone doing just as he pleases, and having no regard for the rule of law, will be over.

The one thing that will fritter away the gains of the military operation will be neglect of the IDPs on our part. From all accounts the majority are living in extremely harsh conditions. The billions of dollars of alms that are being received in their name from abroad should be immediately spent on them, starting now! If they are not well housed, fed, clothed, and finally resettled despite the billions of dollars coming in for them from all over the world, the bitter harvest of disillusionment will promote separatism.

And now about something that can save a whole year of 60,000 students of Intermediate classes of Swat and Chakdara. I understand their examinations had started when the exodus began. 35,000 students of 1st year had taken two papers, and 25,000 students of 2nd year had taken their first paper. It is important to realize that action on war footing can save one year of a whole generation of students of Swat and Chakdara. It will be the best way to start their rehabilitation even before their return home. It will go a long way in reassuring the students, their parents, and the IDPs in general, that the nation cares for them. If we are not going to pay just lip-service to the hardships being suffered by these IDPs, the NWFP Education Department should immediately start preparations for their examinations, to be held in two or three months. In the meantime the government as well as printing houses should pool their resources. The latter should provide books and stationery gratis as their contribution to the nation's welfare in this hour of grave crisis.

Those who are saying that because previous military operations in Balochistan and elsewhere had not achieved their objectives, the present operation should not have been embarked upon, are missing one thing. The previous situations were all very different from the present one. The insurgents in the previous Baloch uprisings had gone up to the hills. However, they were not beheading anyone. They were not blowing up girls' schools or video shops. They were not forcing women to remain incarcerated in their homes. They were not forcing men to wear clothes of a certain type and keep beards. Above all, they had not actually conquered six whole districts of Pakistan and set up their illegal administration there. You see, whatever else we do or not do, we have to get rid of the militancy and regain sovereignty over the whole of our country; it is as simple as that. Political parties that are asking for the government to hold talks with them should think again. Some people suspect that the Taliban, or at least some of their leaders, are the agents of America. You see, whether they are anyone's agents or are acting on their own, we have to get rid of them. We should not be double-minded about that.