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Lost in the dark

There are two half-steps worthy of recall in the first 100 days of the incumbent federal government: the decision to cleanse Karachi and the initial seriousness to get the direction right on energy. A rather delayed attention to the strife aka war against terror is as yet stillborn.

The political consensus via the APC – All Parties Confusion – remains exactly that; minus clarity in objectives, sans a framework and a mechanism, without any known limits to the extent of the quid pro quo or the methodology – with whom, how, where and when.

What is more worrisome is how the prime minister has tended to characterize the whole process. He stated in his address to the cabinet that the government would happily follow the KP government in their effort to pursue peace with the Taliban in Fata, the Balochistan government in its effort to find a settlement with Baloch dissidents, and the Sindh government for peace in Karachi.

This is called abstaining from your own responsibilities, just as the PPP government outsourced both policy and governance to the military in the last five years. This style of laissez faire politics in Pakistan is now termed ‘politics of reconciliation’– nothing more than a convenient escape when the need of the hour is to own responsibility.

I for one am willing to go along with Dr Abdul Malik Baloch finding accommodation with his dissidents because we may not have another nationalist in power for a long time, and we should try and benefit as much as we can from what Dr Abdul Malik can offer. Similarly, having been in power now for a considerable number of years, Qaim Ali Shah would exactly know where lies the source of the disfigurement of Karachi.

Fata, though, is a different story. One, it is a federally administered tribal area; how then can the provincial government find resolution in what is not its domain? Again, the responsibility of retaining its territorial integrity is a state function; the provincial government is not responsible for marshalling the military and deciding when and how to redeploy them. Also, lamentably, the PTI is out of its depth on the issue of terrorism.

Stuck in a groove, the KP government appears hopelessly irrelevant in its proposed solution to appease terror outfits. There is some serious in-house work needed to realign the party on the dimensions of a war that is far deeper than is appreciated.

The trouble with Pakistani politics is that it seems driven by a sentiment of ‘kun fayakun’ – “when I say, occur, it occurs”. For and by mere mortals, it doesn’t. You have to do things, and laboriously work at it, and then it might. This entire regimen though remains hopelessly untended and thus unrealised. That is why no resolution alone delivers anything regardless of what and who might have said it – even our most sovereign parliament.

Post the APC, the world is waiting to see what might emerge with the parleys. In their absence the perceived detractors continue to have a field day; whether that means Fazlullah blowing up generals, or those opposed to talks on principle reinforcing the doubt that accompanies such undertakings. History too being on the side of the doubters, remember.

What will the TTP ask for in return for peace? Handing Fata over and permitting them their own brand of rule? The supporting argument: Fata is still ruled under special provisions, so what then is the issue with another replacement outside state statutes? Will peace indeed be possible?

In its wisdom, the APC and the government left this entire space unaddressed. The way beyond ‘kun fayakun’ remains in first outlining the domain of play. They need to begin by announcing a halt to offensive operations for four weeks, with the caveat that the right to defend will, however, remain against any aggressive and offensive action.

The four-week hiatus is an appropriate time for the TTP to resolve its internal differences and develop a consensus on which route to take. This should also help discern those that seek accommodation from the rest. Once established, the TTP will assume responsibility for the absence of violence from any quarter within their group. Any violation of the agreement to cease violence will deem to have ended the dialogue route. The state will then do whatever it considers appropriate to eliminate violence and terror to ensure its writ over all its territories. Such a clear framework and definition of the domain will enable a meaningful initiation to either side. In its absence the whole enterprise remains a La La land.

The search for enduring peace in Karachi will need courage, persistence and resilience to take matters to their logical end. This remains the sternest test of the PML-N government. For the PPP provincial government, success can prove to be the redemption that may just wash off its face the pock of ineptness that has marred what once was a brilliant repository of liberal politics. To that end, though, there remains a lot more to be done.

Energy remains a half-step despite a promising beginning. After initial enthusiasm spurred by the presence of Shahbaz Sharif, creativity has dried out. Instead of a more intellectual approach to charting the energy solution, it has been left to the wisdom of the carpetbaggers to fleece the last remains through some creative financial arrangements.

The fiscal space that the new IMF facilitation has offered is being rather rapidly filled by the burgeoning rupee supply in lieu, adding to the cost of living and burdening the masses further. In the meanwhile, borrowed foreign exchange finds convenient nesting with energy moguls for non-existent services. Diminishing subsidies will only mean addition of more lifeline users as poverty multiplies. Such are the complications of existence in a state that refuses to own functionality.

Does Mian Sahib have the time to peep behind the ongoing facade?

The writer is a retired air-vice marshal of the Pakistan Air Force and served as its deputy chief of staff. Email: shhzdchdhry@yahoo.com

Shahzad Chaudhry, "Lost in the dark," the News. 2013-09-28.
Keywords: Political science , Government-Pakistan , Political parties , Political process , Political leaders , Taliban , Terrorism , Violence , Politics , CM Shahbaz Sharif , Dr. Abdul Malik , Qaim Ali Shah , Pakistan , Karachi , Balochistan , FATA , PPP , PMLN , IMF