Daily Times Editorial Nov 2, 2013

The fate of the talks strategy Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, in a meeting in London with British Deputy PM Nick Clegg claimed that talks with the Taliban were underway. The PM said the government could not wait and see innocent people and members of the law enforcement agencies being killed in the streets. He went on to underline that the government was enhancing the capability of its counter-terrorism forces and intelligence agencies to root out extremism and terrorism. Lest anyone get too excited about the ‘announcement’, officials back home moved swiftly to pour cold water on the PM’s assertion by saying the ‘process’ had begun but no direct contact with the terrorists had so far taken place. To be charitable, one could say the PM was only guilty of terminological inexactitude, but the incident has once again focused attention on the government’s talks strategy and its snail-like progress since the government took office.. Markers along the way include the All Parties Conference, in which the government received a mandate for the talks. The PM having tasked Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar with taking the political parties on board, especially since Leader of the Opposition Khursheed Shah had written a letter to Nawaz Sharif regarding doubts emanating from the apparent lack of progress, the interior minister briefed the parties. Nothing has been revealed about what the interior minister had to say, but the political parties leaders, though tight-lipped, seemed satisfied by the briefing. However, Khursheed Shah did say that they had been told there were 37-57 splinter groups of the Taliban. That underlines the complexity of negotiating with the ‘Taliban’ when they are clearly not a unified organisation, rather the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is merely an umbrella for all these groups, but does not enjoy absolute authority over them, as the example of the breaking away of the Punjabi Taliban from the TTP over its support for talks with the government proves. Even worse, so far the TTP has been showing no inclination of being open to talks, setting conditions such as its refusal to disarm, release of all its prisoners, and an end to the drone strikes as prior conditions. A timely reminder of the fact that the Taliban intend in the interim, until the talks conundrum yields some movement, to continue their attacks is provided by the rooftop blast on a pro-government tribal leader’s business premises in Bajaur on Thursday that injured three people. On the other hand, the encouraging news is that the FATA Secretariat is in touch with the Taliban through a tribal jirga to try and get the ‘ban’ imposed by the terrorists on polio vaccinations lifted so that around 150,000 children in the area so far not inoculated may be reached and administered the vaccine. Cases of polio are regularly emerging in FATA, showing how children in the tribal areas are at risk, not to mention the threat of Pakistan being condemned to pariah status as a country of origin of the virus. To underline the threat, which could include a travel ban on Pakistan by 2015 if it is still not polio-free, the recent unconfirmed accusation that the polio virus has travelled from Pakistan to Syria and Egypt points to the possible future. The fact that one round of talks between the jirga and the Taliban has taken place, and the latter are prepared to return for another round since they have accepted the jirga's contention on one of the Taliban’s preconditions for talks that the drone strikes must end that this is not within the power of the Pakistan government, indicates what many knowledgeable people regarding the tribal areas argue. The best way forward, they say, for a dialogue process is to return to the traditional method of a representative jirga of all the tribes in FATA to talk to the Taliban and persuade them to end their campaign of terrorism. It is not known if the ‘mediators’ the government is relying on are also making efforts in this direction, but it is an idea worth exploring since it sits well with the traditions and culture of the area. Mobilising such a jirga would bring the tribes onto the government's side, and the Taliban, who after all have to survive amongst these tribes, may find it difficult to resist the consensus view of such a gathering. On the other hand, if the Taliban defy the jirga, life for them in the tribal areas could become very difficult, and their very survival may be at stake. This is a line of thought the government would be advised to at least explore.