The battle of Punjab

In the midst of all these flaming headlines that have lit the political landscape this weekend, we should not turn our gaze away from the apparently placid plains of Punjab. For it is in this arena that the battle against terrorism and militancy will be won or lost. And this, exactly, is the message delivered by the suicide bombing last Sunday in a village in Attock.
Setting aside the bitter discord around the proposed talks between Pakistan and India at the level of the National Security Advisers, rooted in almost immortal divergences between the two South Asian neighbours, we have remained more engrossed this week in what is happening in Karachi. Here is something that seems so real, with a bearing on so many lives.
At the other end of the spectrum, intense activity is reported from North Waziristan as Operation Zarb-e-Azb is said to have entered its final phase. Since its launch in June last year, the operation has scored a number of victories. This week, the ground offensive has been initiated in Shawal Valley, a treacherous terrain, after sustained air strikes. The terrorists had considered this valley as inaccessible.
On the face of it, the battle should be so much more manageable in the towns and rural expanses of Punjab. Or would it be more tricky, as the enemy would not line up for a frontal attack? It is obvious that this will be a different ballgame and the initiative belongs to the civilian administration. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is the person in charge.
We have some evidence that he means business and the death of Malik Ishaq and a number of his close associates in a police encounter stands out prominently in the drive against sectarian terrorists. But it was perhaps not part of a comprehensive plan of a strategic nature to defeat terrorism on its numerous fronts. Otherwise, the scope for retaliation from the militants would carefully have been examined and blocked.
Besides, it is difficult to absolve the provincial administration of its original sins of allowing the likes of Malik Ishaq to survive and flourish for so long. It was possible for groups nestled in southern Punjab to strike at targets, for instance, in Quetta. It is surely a blot on the nation’s conscience that it was not hurt into decisive action when more than 200 members of the Hazara community were killed in massive bomb blasts in January and February 2013.
There were so many other soul-destroying incidents of sectarian violence across the country. It was only after the massacre of our schoolchildren in Peshawar on December 16, 2014 that serious attention was paid to such banned outfits as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. This was, in fact, the promise of the National Action Plan and it is hard to ignore the fact that during the past eight months the plan has not been diligently executed.
It is worth recalling the clauses of the plan that specifically apply to Punjab. One prescribes action against elements spreading sectarianism. Another demands zero tolerance for militancy in Punjab. In other words, it was resolved that terrorists and their networks would not be tolerated in the Punjab province. What does this tell you about the potential that exists in the province to bolster terrorist activities across the country? After all, the sanctuaries of the militants in southern Punjab are well documented.
Consider, also, the impression that compared to the three other provinces, Punjab is more peaceful and better governed. The focus, with reference to terrorist violence, was mainly on the tribal areas extending from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjacent to Afghanistan. Karachi, of course, has forever been bleeding. Balochistan has its own peculiar problems marked by nationalist insurgency. Things seemed to be working out in Punjab.
Be that as it may, the point of reference now is the tragic killing of Punjab’s home minister in a bomb attack in which about twenty persons lost their lives. In terms of its impact, the Attock atrocity is the most dreadful after that unforgettable bloodbath in Peshawar in December last year. The heroic image of retired army officer Shuja Khanzada, who had courageously led the campaign against the terrorists, has deepened our sense of loss. Simultaneously, the tragedy has underlined the power that the terrorists may still wield eight months after the National Action Plan was launched.
It is in this situation that Shahbaz Sharif has asserted his leadership to launch a fresh and definitive assault on terrorism. Presiding over the Punjab cabinet’s condolence meeting on Monday, he was quoted as saying: “I swear by the blood of Shuja Khanzada that I will turn Pakistan into a cradle of peace. I pledge that we will not rest until the eradication of terrorism from the country”.
Leave aside the fact that he spoke about Pakistan and the country and not only about Punjab, the question now is: how does he propose to go about it? He is known to be a doer – a man of action. What we need in this enterprise is a man of vision. Someone who can deal with many subtle aspects of social policy.
We are familiar with assertions that to tackle terrorism and extremism, we have to attend to their root causes. But our rulers have consistently avoided hard and politically problematic decisions. There is some hint of what I mean in what Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said in Mandi Bahauddin on Wednesday. He made the point that the terrorists were misusing religion.
Come to think of it, so are politicians. And this had led us into an ideological wilderness. The latest report about investigations into the Attock suicide bombing published on Saturday is that in a midnight raid on a seminary in Islamabad, four persons were arrested for allegedly being involved in the attack. Obviously, these seminaries have not been adequately monitored.
But the problem is much larger. The task at hand is to renovate the entire social structure. The present campaign dictated by the National Action Plan is apparently being piloted by the military, not trained to delve into social issues. It is urgent that the civilian rulers gain control of the entire proceedings. Shahbaz Sharif should do that in Punjab.
However, the test here is not just of executive or managerial capacities of an administration. A society that nurtures fanaticism and militancy needs meaningful cultural, moral and intellectual medication. Essentially, the change will come with the empowerment of the oppressed and downtrodden people of Pakistan. Any leader who aspires to transform our society has a lot of thinking to do. Do they have time – and the capacity – to undertake this exercise?
The writer is a staff member.
Email: ghazi_salahuddin@hotmail.com