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WEEKLY
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| Reviewing terror |
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Friday, October 24, 2008
The joint session of parliament after a marathon discussion between party representatives, has finally passed a unanimous resolution on the battle against terror. The carefully worded, 14-point resolution does not say very much, but calls for an urgent review of the national security situation, seeks a review of the methodology of combating terror and advocates an 'independent' foreign policy. The resolution, reportedly adopted after many hours of heated debate between members of the 16-member parliamentary committee formed to finalize it, was tabled before parliament well into Wednesday night. During the meeting to discuss its provisions, demands from the JUI-F chief that an immediate ceasefire be called, had led to threats of a walkout from him. The resolution, to meet the demands of those seeking an end to armed action, calls broadly for dialogue with all stakeholders and the withdrawal of army units where possible with civilian forces taking their place.
As an exercise in democracy, the passage of the resolution has at least served the purpose of persuading parties to talk to each other on issues and to work towards building agreements. This is useful. Certainly, on the many national issues now facing us, we need more consensus and a greater readiness to work together. The passage of the resolution also enables Pakistan to report success to its friends overseas on devising a common position on terror. Prime Minister Gilani, now in China, will no doubt produce the resolution as evidence of Pakistan's readiness to take on the terrorists. He will be hopeful that this results in a willingness to extend to Pakistan the cash bail-out it urgently needs, to prevent it slipping deeper into crisis. So far Beijing, rather unexpectedly, has refused to offer immediate relief.
But beyond the symbolic gesture of unity, it is questionable how much the resolution means. The language used is at best, vague. Our problems are rooted in the fact that Pakistan at present is quite unable to adopt the 'independent' foreign policy called for, given that it seeks international help to save it from its growing economic nightmare. The tough fact of life is that it must strive to keep Washington happy, or risk being allowed to plunge headlong into an economic abyss. It is uncertain if this problem was addressed by the committee. Indeed, with the US presidential election now only weeks away, tougher times yet may lie ahead for the country once the new team moves into the White House. Pragmatically speaking, we must also ask if we can genuinely hope to solve the mammoth problem of militancy on our own and whether we possess the means and the will to do so. These issues are ones our legislators still need to grapple with. The unanimous resolution is a welcome step. But more needs to be done, rhetoric abandoned and the harsh realities faced if Pakistan is to solve the problems facing it.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
