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The latest APC: how different is it?

Let me begin by stating that I am a die-hard optimist, I always see the glass as half full. This time around my optimism is based on certain decisions and resultant actions taken by the newly-elected government that I believe are distinct from the past decade with respect to criminal activity and its more extreme form, terrorism.

Political parties actively extend patronage to criminal activity, or so it has been documented by intelligence agencies and the police which, they claim, render them powerless to bring the guilty to justice. To further complicate the issue intelligence reports submitted to the court clearly indicate that police recruitment in Karachi has been on the basis of political affiliations for the past decade. In contrast, terrorism is rooted in a political ideology. Interestingly, the Taliban have been declared terrorists globally but Hamas has been declared a terrorist group by the US, Canada, the EU, Japan and Israel and its nationalist credentials ignored.

My optimism however does not extend to the belief that criminal activity and terror incidents are challenges that can be solved within a five-year period – a view that is strengthened by the fact that terror-related incidents proliferated subsequent to the oath taking by the new government, and this is in spite of the general perception that PML (N) made a pre-election deal with the Punjabi Taliban which accounts for the party not being the target in the run-up to the elections. The recent arrest of an al Qaeda handler allegedly from the room of an Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba activist in Punjab University is yet another example of a political party’s association with terror. We all acknowledge that law and order has evolved into a very complex issue sourced to different groups with different objectives operating in different parts of the country with many known criminals joining terror groups to escape justice. To add to the complexity of the problem criminal activity is a provincial subject while terrorism is clearly and unambiguously a subject that the federal government must deal with. It is therefore no wonder that an All Parties Conference (APC) was called for 9th September 2013 with representation from an across-the-board national and provincial political leadership, as well as the military leadership.

The PML (N) is the second government to call an APC to reach a consensus on how to deal with this menace – an approach that came into play after democracy was restored in 2008: (i) an in-camera joint session was held on 22nd October 2008 during which the military establishment briefed parliamentarians; (ii) April 2009 recommendations of a Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) gave the operational independence to the army to deal with terrorism in northern parts of the country; (iii) former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani held an APC (29th September 2011) where the consensus was development, deterrence and dialogue; (iii) 14th May 2011 a joint sitting of parliament discussed terrorism; (iv) 12th April 2012 a resolution along the guidelines provided by the PCNS was passed; and (vii) ANP 14th February and JUI (F) on 28th February 2013. But implementation of these resolutions remained almost non-existent. The September 2013 APC has stipulated, like its predecessors, that resolutions passed in previous APCs/PCNS must be implemented and a committee established that would meet on a regular basis to implement the resolution.

So what was different about the 8 points of the 9th September APC resolution? Para 8 states that the APC reposes “full confidence in efforts of the prime minister…and calls upon the federal government to initiate dialogue with all the stakeholders forthwith and for this purpose authorise to take all necessary steps as it may deem fit including development of appropriate mechanism and identification of interlocutors. Needless to state, the process should be as inclusive as possible with full participation of the government of KPK and other stakeholders.” The prime minister and his government have been empowered to deal with the menace which is a significant shift from earlier resolutions and reflects the democratic credentials of the country’s current political leadership.

Exactly a week after the APC was held, there are visible signs of engagement through back channels between the government, including representatives from the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) government as well as from the military, and the Taliban. Talks are to be restricted to Pakistani Taliban and no talks would be held with foreign groups operating in Pakistan, a condition that was stipulated as early as in a 2011 APC.

It has been reported that the Taliban have proposed a ten-member team to negotiate with the government – a team which includes six religious scholars, two commanders and there is speculation that Hakeemullah Mehsud may also be a member of the team. The Taliban are likely to demand exchange of prisoners, compensation for those affected by the army action and withdrawal of the army from South Waziristan and its replacement by the Frontier Constabulary as before. The government is not expected to agree to impose shariah a la Taliban style on the entire country or abandon the constitution. In case of failure of talks the military option remains on the table. There is speculation that the talks would fail like in the past with success limited to some Taliban groups. And then it is back to even further than square one with the US and Nato departure in 2014.

The resolution also devotes one clause each to the following: (i) crisis in Karachi urging the provincial and federal governments to make sustained and concerted efforts with complete impartiality and dedication for bringing Karachi back to its assigned glory, (ii) Balochistan unrest with the APC authorising the provincial government and its chief minister to initiate the process of dialogue with all estranged Baloch elements inside and outside the country with a view to bringing them back to the national mainstream, (iii) drone strikes with the federal government urged to consider the possibility of taking the drone issue to the United Nations, and (iv) the government would make all out efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan by continuous and sustained engagement with the government and people of Afghanistan.

A targeted operation has begun in Karachi with the MQM crying victimisation; however violent protests in several Sindh cities lasted for 24 hours followed by the MQM leadership claiming that it did not give the call for the protest and that the anger of its workers which led to the destruction of public and private property is unfortunate. However what is significant is that violent street protests have been replaced by peaceful protests, and requisitioning Sindh Assembly session. Former MQM MPA Nadeem Hashmi remains in prison. A three-member committee has proposed legal reforms that would strengthen the Rangers as well protect the identity of witnesses, judges and prosecutors on what is being hoped is the same pattern as that adopted successfully by Italy during its targeted operation against the mafia.

Work appears stalled with respect to Balochistan and the government needs to focus attention on this province on an emergent basis. The Foreign Office has declared that paper work is being prepared to take the issue of drone strikes to the United Nations. And finally by including Afghanistan in the APC resolution the government acknowledged its relevance to our capacity to deal with the complex issue of terrorism on our soil.

Platitudes in the resolution, like in the past, are also present and include: “sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan are paramount and must be safeguarded at all cost,” and “we pray for the shuhada and extend our heartfelt sympathies… we call upon the federal and provincial governments to provide all possible assistance for rehabilitation and social reintegration of these families and other victims of terrorism.”

Anjum Ibrahim, "The latest APC: how different is it?," Business recorder. 2013-09-16.
Keywords: Political science , Political issues , Political parties , Political leaders , Political challenges , Terrorism , Drone attacks , Karachi situation , Targeted killing , Leadership , Taliban , MQM , APC , PMLN