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Living with the Taliban -- Adnan Adil
[Pak Daily Times] The mourning of religio-political and most mainstream parties at the killing of Tehrik-e-Taliban Taliban (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a drone attack by the US should not be surprising as these parties have been quite consistent for a long time in expressing their soft corner, if not outright support, for the Taliban movement.The Jamaat-e-Islami ... The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independentbranch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... chief, Munawar Hasan, who hit the headlines by declaring Mehsud a martyr, is on record as condemning the military operation against the TTP in South Wazoo in 2010. Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... never spoke a word of sympathy for the common people or army officers killed by the Taliban.  Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... has been quite hypocritical in his stance about the bad boys, with no clear policy on terrorism. Except for the Pakistain People's Party, the Awami National Party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... and Shia and Barelvi holy mans, no other party or religious outfit has ever opposed the Taliban. Liberal intellectuals and non-governmental organizations are also on the side of the anti-Taliban formation. The country stands sharply divided over the issue of dealing with the Taliban with pro-Taliban groups in a dominant majority. Even the Pak media, especially the Urdu press, is rife with the supporters of the Taliban though some of them may be a little diplomatic in their posturing. The debate in the print and electronic media over Malala Yousufzai's book and drone attacks is a manifestation of the penetration of the Taliban mindset into the educated middle class. The Taliban movement has very deep, wide roots in Pak society and it fulfills certain requirements of a majority of our people. One major factor behind the Taliban's acceptability is their anti-US role as these people rightly or wrongly consider the US to be an enemy of Moslems and Islam. Until the Taliban are fighting the US forces in Afghanistan and the Pakistain establishment is seen as a US ally, the Taliban will remain popular.  Maulana Fazlur RehmanDeobandi holy man, known as Mullah Dieselduring the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... has articulated this sentiment by saying that he would declare even a dog to be a martyr if it is killed by the US. A large section of Pak society may be categorised as 'moderate Taliban', people who share the Taliban's interpretation of Islam and its enforcement but do not like their violent tactics such as suicide kabooms, murders and beheadings. For example, unlike the Taliban who banned all kinds of female education, the moderate Taliban want female education but with the observing of purdah (veil). The moderate Taliban could be averse to the use of violence in the enforcement of their brand of Sharia at home, but not so while fighting a foreign force like the US-led forces in Afghanistan or Indian forces in Kashmire. The Taliban movement combines a puritan interpretation of religion with elements of anti-westernism, fascism ...a political system developed in Italy symbolized by the Roman fasces-- thin reeds, each flimsy in itself but unbreakable when bound into a bundle. The word is nowadays thrown around by all sorts of people who have no idea what they're talking about... and the trappings of populist rhetoric. The Taliban movement is not a monolithic organization led by Hakeemullah Mehsud as a Taliban front man himself explained in a recent interview. It is a conglomerate of different groups and dozens of other affiliated sub-groups operating all over the country. It gains strength from the fact that except for organizations belonging to the Shia and Barelvi sects, all religious organizations are in support of the Taliban movement. The rank and file of religio-political organizations, such as the Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl and Sami groups), Tableeghi Jamaat, different organizations of the Ahle-e-Hadith sect and the Jamaat-e-Islami, has an emotional and ideological attachment with the Taliban movement. The workers and leaders of these organizations have linkages with each other and provide boarding and logistical support to bad boys. The Barelvi sect, which was in majority a few decades ago, has been shrinking in recent times, giving way to expansion of Deobandi and Wahabi sects. Spread of literacy, urbanisation and busy modern lifestyle have led to decline in the appeal of the ritualistic Barelvi sect. The urban, semi-educated people are more attracted to a rituals-free, puritan interpretation of the religion. The Taliban's bad boy infrastructure may be concentrated in the northwestern tribal belt, Waziristan, etc, but Mumbai, Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... and Lahore are the ideological centres of the movement. The seminaries and holy mans based in these cities provide ideological direction and literature motivating the activists. It is not without reason the Taliban honoured and positively responded to the recent appeal made by Deobandi holy mans (Learned Elders of Islam) of these cities to cease violence and start talks with the government. A Taliban leader was quoted as saying in the media that the edict (fatwa) of these holy mans for negotiations with the government has the status of an order for them. Had they not respected the edict, they risked losing support among the followers of these Learned Elders of Islam. Following Karachi, the Taliban movement has now spawned in the interior Sindh as well, which hitherto has been a hub of Sufi (mystic) Islam. South Punjab is already a bastion of the Punjab Taliban, a nomenclature that is used as a variant for anti-Shia and Jihadi sectarian outfits known as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... , Sipah-e-Sahaba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, etc. There are hundreds of Taliban-affiliated seminaries in the entire region. In central Punjab, Jihadi organizations such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure,an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... , now working as Jamat-ud-Dawa and with other names like Anjuman Falah-e-Insaniat, etc, are closely allied with the Taliban. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... , Deobandis constitute a very large majority of the population. The seminaries of Akora Khattak and Punj Sher (Swabi) have been the nurseries of the Taliban. The students and Learned Elders of Islam of these religious schools have played a key role in fostering the Taliban movement in Afghanistan and later in Swat. What gives impetus to the Taliban movement is the fact that people across the country, in general, are fed up with the corrupt and inefficient state. A majority of people want resolution of their basic issues like unemployment, price hike and inefficient judicial system, whosoever provides these. They are more concerned with their survival issues than the ideas of freedoms and civil liberties. Our ruling elite is so dishonest, callous in treating the poor and incompetent in governance and service delivery that a large number of people have lost hope in them. In this situation, certain sections of society are looking towards the Taliban as the messiah. The Taliban movement has an appeal for the poor, lower middle class and religious-minded people. Unless the issues of governance, administration of justice, public education and fair distribution of wealth are addressed, the Taliban movement will keep gaining strength. An intensive military operation against the TTP in North Waziristan and other parts of the northwestern tribal areas may only provide a temporary respite. The Taliban phenomenon has much more to it than militancy. It is going to stay with us and cannot be wished away. We will have to find ways to live with it. Posted by: Fred 2013-11-12 |
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