Islamabad [Pakistan], September 1 : There is a serious disconnect between the local civil society and the Pakistani military on how to counter terrorism, as the state is resorting to brutal means such as enforced disappearances, large-scale operations, and military tactics, an opinion piece article in Pakistan-based Dawn stated.
The article is written by Tariq Parvez, a former police officer and the first coordinator of Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Authority.
Stating that deteriorating socioeconomic conditions is also a major reason of the growing disconnect, he stated that the continuation of this "communication gap" is likely to strengthen the hands of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
On July 22, a 45-member jirga of Bannu elders presented a list of 16 demands for the maintenance of peace in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially in Bannu, in response to the government's announcement that a military operation would be started in the region.
It is said that these demands were approved by the KP Apex Committee, which consists of representatives from both the local military command and the province government.
A jirga committee convened on August 4 to assess the execution of these demands. It said that up to that point, just three demands had been fulfilled. The committee noted that, as demonstrated by the spike in incidents, the government's delay tactics will probably worsen the security situation not just in Bannu but also in the surrounding districts of North and South Waziristan, Parvez writes.
The 16 demands of the jirga fall into four groups: the police, the military, the Pakistani Taliban, and socioeconomic issues.
Parvez, in his article, stated that three demands are made of the military.
The first says that the jirga has a firm rejection to any large-scale operation; second, a strong objection to military tactics used in Bannu, such as forced disappearances; and third, a firm rejection of the strategy of treating the Tehreek-e-Taliban-Pakistan by classifying them as either the "bad Taliban" or the "surrendered Taliban."
Similarly, the Taliban's document-checking, extortion, and patrolling undermine the authority of the state and give the appearance that the government is unable or unwilling to defend its inhabitants from terrorist attacks, the Dawn article read. It presents the government as being incompetent and weak, this view severely undermines public support for the counterterrorism (CT) initiative, Parvez writes.
He further mentioned that the jirga further called for socioeconomic reforms like opening the "Ghulam Khan trade route for Afghanistan," granting the people of Bannu "due share in local natural resources, especially gas and minerals," and restoring internet and cell phone service in the region, as reported by Dawn.
Notably, the significance of the Bannu jirga lies not only in the fact that it highlights the issues of greatest concern to the people of Bannu, but also that the demands, with local variations, are representative of all other segments of KP and Balochistan, which are bearing the brunt of the terrorist onslaught.
Meanwhile, similar voices have been heard from the recently held Swat Qaumi Jirga and the Baloch Yakjehti Committee.
"Ignoring these demands will only widen the present alienation between the people and the state, depriving the latter of the critical support of local communities in our national CT effort. Therein lies the importance of the Bannu message," Parvez stated.
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