...the
Godfather of the Taliban,leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as
Mullah Sandwichfor his habit of having two young boys at a time...
's 'quitting' the grinding of the peace processor designed to bring religious turbans to the bargaining table with the state must have been greeted with mirth. After all, when did the maulana-led process ever begin? An ostensibly hurt Samiul Haq released a statement on Wednesday in which he blamed
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...
's "lack of seriousness" for the failure of his grand push for peace. However,
women are made to be loved, not understood...
Prime Minister House retorted with a sharply worded statement on Thursday that Mr Sharif had never actually tasked the maulana with "any specific mission". Who to believe? Our politicians have mastered the art of spin and are known to dismiss statements on record as 'siyasi bayan'. But most people familiar with the hurly-burly of Pak politics had regarded Samiul Haq's original claims of opening dialogue channels with the turbans with scepticism. After all, reports indicated the prime minister had never explicitly assigned the holy man the role of go-between and gave him the vaguest of go-aheads to attempt mediation. The maulana, never media shy, made it appear as if he had been officially anointed the state's peace emissary to the Taliban. Samiul Haq has backed out because, according to him, despite getting positive feelers from the Talibs all he got from PM House was silence. He added that the recent air strikes in North
Wazoo also scuttled the 'grinding of the peace processor'. PM House disagreed, saying they had not heard anything from the maulana in weeks.Even if Samiul Haq had not abandoned his peace mission, his efforts were hardly likely to have succeeded. It is debatable how much actual influence the 'Father of the Taliban' retains over his wayward progeny. After all, as any parent will tell you, disciplining kids is not easy. And if those kids grow up into turbans out to conquer the country, things really get difficult. These errant children of 'jihad' are hardly likely to listen to their elders.