A news story only a couple of days ago by respected journalist, Amir Mir, made some startling revelations with regard to the supposed ‘peace negotiations’, or government-TTP talk, hours ahead of which the TTP chief, Hakimullah Mehsood was Droned. As if the sound and fury at Hakimullah’s killing by the likes of interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ahmed Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and Jamat-e-Islami (JI) chief Munnawr Hassan was not comical enough, Mir’s revelations elevated the farce to a whole new level.
Mir has pieced together information from Taliban, American and Pakistani security sources to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that Nisar was inventing stories (it’s hard to find a politer word for the actions of a federal interior minister) on 2nd November when he stated a government delegation was hours away from meeting the Taliban representatives to set out Pakistan government’s offer before Hakeemullah was struck. Nisar had questioned the timing of the attack, called it an attack on peace in Pakistan, precisely based on his claim of the scheduled meeting between the two sides.
The chicanery in evidence confounds the mind. Whilst the brain was still struggling to fathom how Hakimullah’s execution could derail peace in this country, when indiscriminate killing continued apace by the Taliban could not, Mir’s stunning exposé came along. Taliban statements from immediately before and after the strike firmly refute Chaudhry Nisar’s claims – pointing to the impossibility of such an event given another Drone strike in Miramshah bazar only a day before Hakimullah was killed. The group has expressed surprise, indeed called a Shura, to discover if anyone amongst them was talking to the government at all. This is lent credence by the absence of any one of the alleged three member government delegation coming forward to identify themselves. But then, in defence of the alleged delegation, it is difficult for fictional characters to come forward.
Pakistan’s security establishment, too, has denied any knowledge of a scheduled meeting. Significantly, the security establishment sources pointed out the impossibility of a scheduled meeting given the ‘rubbish’ nature of Taliban pre-conditions for talks: ‘the release of convicted and under trial TTP prisoners, withdrawal of the army from FATA, enforcement of Shariah in the country and the halting of the American drone attacks in Pakistani tribal areas’. They further pointed to certain other obvious contradictions in Nisar’s statements, clearly giving his words the lie.
A priceless finishing touch to Nisar’s flap in the Hakimullah babel is provided by the US State Department spokesperson clarifying it had not received any official protest note from Pakistan, after Nisar’s thundering announcements to summon the US ambassador over Hakimullah’s killing.
The sheer absurdity of the whole situation is mind numbing: first the Bedlam let loose by him at the killing of a declared enemy of the state, Hellfires raining, and then the discovery of the entirely fabricated stories he based his howling on. To turn a famous proverb on its head, Nisar appears to be neither running with the hare, nor hunting with the hounds. He appears simply intent on trying to fool everyone and anyone passing by. The immediate question is why anyone, leave alone a high profile public figure with a reputation at stake, would tell such easily discoverable series of fibs and make a caricature of himself. The next question is, why the urge to tell lies in the first place.
One distinct explanation might be that he’s not feeling well. Another explanation involves speculation that Nisar is merely trying to outperform Imran Khan and Munawar Hasan in appearing pro-Taliban and anti-USA, to protect the PML-N’s political turf that has been dangerously encroached upon by Imran Khan’s extreme right political stance. A third explanation on offer is escape from wrath of the Taliban raining down on PML-N leaders in particular, and on the Punjab in general. Which actually points back at his not feeling well.
If the minister thinks his whoppers aimed at appeasing the Taliban will get the N-League or the Punjab spared in the long run, he is sadly deluded. Also, to preserve the PML-N’s vote bank and protect it against Imran Khan’s onslaught, a few things like delivering on election promises of Roshan Pakistan and tackling the existential security threats will override desperate pretense.
If the PML-N has any sincerity left in it, it will have to lead, not follow perceived public sentiment or perception, which has been artificially created over the years. It must shatter the myth that the Taliban is indefatigable, undefeatable – and that only ‘dialogue with stakeholders’ holds the key for peace. The PML-N must crush this narrative popularized by Imran Khan and take him head on, instead of bleating to his tune. Imran Khan has now emerged as another Frankenstein’s monster of the deep state, while the state runs for cover. The security establishment Titanic is changing direction – albeit slowly – weighed down by its own monsters like Imran Khan and other apologists in the political and media spaces. The PML-N must recognize this and expose the fact that the Taliban has remained undefeated only because of the duplicitous policies rooted in strategic depth by the deep state in the past – policies the state has come to regret – policies that didn’t allow a clear minded, holistic assault on militants of all shades; policies that Imran Khan has enabled as a tool. A flawed narrative was created to support these policies, and as twitter friend of brownpundits.com, Omar Ali, headlined one of his articles, it’s simply a case of the narrative having come home to roost. Bust the narrative – and you will bust the Taliban. It is not any intrinsic superiority or military might of the Taliban, but the confused approach to fighting militancy that has allowed the Taliban to thrive to this day. Leadership, not Chaudhry Nisar’s buffoonery, will get Pakistan across the finish line.
The PML-N must further recongnise that the man it quakes in fear of, Imran Khan, and the fear it allows itself to wither under, will shrivel and disappear like all other artificial constructions of the state… if only it gathered the courage to shape and lead the narrative, and the war.

The writer is a human rights worker and freelance columnist.

email: gulnbukhari@gmail.com

twitter: @gulbukhari