Pak crisis after Taliban chief’s drone death

Pak PM’s dilemma after Taliban chief’s drone death Pakistan has been plunged into a fresh crisis since the killing of Tehrik-e-Taliabn Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakeemullah Mehsud in a drone strike by the Americans. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had been pinning his hopes on a dialogue with the TTP for a possible peace deal to contain violence across the country. That hope now lies in tatters. Undeterred, Sharif is still prepared for talks to avoid going for the military option against the Taliban whose new leader Mullah Fazlullah is a known ultra hardliner. Making an impassioned stand for a “lasting peace” through talks Sharif told a press gathering in Karachi:“There’s been enough bloodshed, and some say more than forty thousand civilians and soldiers have been killed in these years of trouble, and therefore the only way out is to speed up the efforts for a permanent peace in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the rest of the country..” A desperate plea indeed, perhaps a right move in order to win over at least the ‘soft’ Taliban. All this despite TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan spelling out that the chances of peace through talks were now “ zero”,or less than zero.” The situation is likely to turn even more volatile with the killing in Islamabad of Nasiruddin Haqqani ,the son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, founder of the Afghan Taliban network. The dialogue with Taliabn has been a mirage. At best, it can give both sides temporary respite before the next round. The American drone strike has closed that option for a long time, if not for ever. Pakistan has for long dithered over taking action against the Taliban. But the Americans have no intention of ending drone strikes. That was made clear to Sharif when he met President Barack Obama during and after the UN General Assembly session in New York.. Nor can Nawaz Sharif expect any mercy from Mullah Fazlullah, also known as Mullah Radio for his clandestine broadcasts for his sermons against polio vaccination programmes and girls' education. When his forces captured Pakistan’s Swat district in 2007, he ruled it with an iron hand for two years before being evicted by Pakistan Army in 2009. Fazlullah, who carries a bounty worth half a million dollars on his head, is known for carrying out bloody strikes like beheading of 17 Paksitani soldiers last year, besides burning schools and master-minding the failed attack on schoolgirl Malala Yusafzai – all in the name of Islamic Sharia as he understands or misunderstands it.. He is an old time follower of Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammadi founded by his father-in-law. Fazlullah merged his TNSM with the newly formed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) after General Pervez Musharraf”s army operation to clear the radical Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad, The Taliban may have lost some battles but their war continues. Only a couple of months ago in September when an All Party Conference under Sharif was trying for peace talks, Fazlullah’s fighters under the TTP command of Hakeemullah Mehsud waged battles with Pakistan Army, killing a Major-General and a Colonel besides several soldiers. After claiming the responsibility for that attack Fazlullah sent out a video message saying loud and clear: “We will remove any hurdle to enforcing Islamic Sharia. Our goal is very clear – we want the law of Allah in Allah's land.” Fazlullah’s aim always has been and still is about installing the Taliban’s version of Sharia across the country. His ambit is not confined to its own backyard in North or South Waziristan or all of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). . Unlike Hakeemullah Mehsud who practised double talk to confuse Pakistan with occasional peace feelers while simultaneously waging war, Fazlullah is a blunt militant: who doesn’t mince words. His target is the whole of Pakistan, neighbouring Afghanistan and beyond.. Even the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government of Imran Khan’s party has not been spared. In spite of Imran Khan pleading for opening a Taliban office in Pakistan, the KPK law minister was assassinated. That was perhaps a lesson for Imran Khan for riding theTaliban Tiger. But Imran Khan refuses to learn any lesson. Blind to the sectarian, extremist religious menace, he sticks to his vote-catching belief that America is the source of all of Pakistan’s troubles. Or as analysts like Editor Najam Sethi of The Friday Times have suggested , Imran Khan is fishing in deeper waters He is egging on all elements to take tough actions against the Americans, including stopping NATO supply tankers to Afghanistan, and derail the US-Pakistan relationship which currently accounts for nearly $10 billion in IMF, Coalition Support Fund and Kerry-Lugar aid to Pakistan. The real aim : to destabilize the country and push for a a regime change and bring down the Nawaz Sharif government. On top of all this, the Prime Minister has to watch out for ambitious men in the armed forces. He wouldn’t want another somebody who could do a Musharraf on him. The threat of an army coup , though unlikely in the present conditions, can never be too far. In Sharif’s case it’s a matter of once bitten, twice shy. Nor is that all. There is the question of a split within the army, ISI and other defence components. There are jihadis within all sections who are pro-Taliban, anti-India, anti-America, and above all anti-liberal Pakistan.. Poor Sharif, surrounded by more foes than friends of all hues, is caught in the quagmire from which there is no easy escape. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...................................................................................................................................................