Time for Punjab to wake up and smell the coffee
The writer is an Islamabad-based journalist
whose reports frequently appear in The New York Times.
(salman.masood@tribune.com.pk)
Punjab is under scrutiny once again after the
deadly terrorist attacks on the Ahmadis in Lahore. Chief Minister
Shahbaz Sharif has been trading barbs with Governor Salman Taseer over
extremism and militancy for quite some time.
The latest entrant in the verbal boxing ring
is Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who has said that the recent attacks
were carried out by the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. He also initially hinted, but
later backtracked, some sort of government operation would be carried
out in the southern parts of the province. Mr Sharif is, understandably,
upset at the increasing cast of characters who doubt what he still
considers his legendary administrative skills. He considers any
criticism on his ways of governance to be politically motivated meddling
into his turf. That said, south Punjab continues to make headlines
after each terror incident. These districts have remained dismally
impoverished with an abundance of madrassahs and outfits like the
Sipah-i-Sahaba, the LeJ and the Jaish-i-Muhammad have strong networks
there.
However, Mr Sharif’s gripe over the
nomenclature of the militants is rather trivial though he is half right
in stressing that south Punjab is not the only hotbed of militancy. A
military style operation there would only complicate and further
exacerbate the issue. But that does not mean that for reasons of
political expediency a state of denial should blind those at the helm of
affairs.
Militant networks of all stripes and
their nexus with local groups exist all across the province.
The Punjab of 2010 is different from that of
the 1990s and Mr Sharif seems to have lost the magical touch through
which he controlled the province in that decade. He should fast come to
terms with changing ground realities. Sectarian outfits continue to
operate openly and the writ of the provincial government is weak in the
backwaters. The militants are emboldened and highly motivated. In these
circumstances, appeasement or co-opting the extremist elements would
further give them opportunities to further their agendas and occupy more
public space. Both the PML-N and the PPP are guilty of relying on
clandestine support of extremist groups to garner electoral victories.
PML-N managed to woo Sipah-i-Sahaba in the by-elections in Jhang. This
is thanks to the pragmatism and financial incentives offered by Rana
Sanaullah, the provincial law minister. Maulana Muhammad Ahmad
Ludhyanvi, the chief of the Sipah-i-Sahaba, in an interview given
recently to a TV channel has already stated that his workers supported
Jamshed Dasti, the PPP candidte, in Muzaffargarh. Sipah-e-Sahaba is now
lending support to PML-N candidate Nighma Mushtaq in Jalalpur Pirwala
district by elections.
If Mr Sharif is concerned
that a tough clampdown on these militant groups would result in throwing
the province down the inferno, he might also consider the fires that
are already raging and spreading fast.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/18828/time-for-punjab-to-wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee/
