Pakistan still has no Plan B

What the world, and Pakistanis who are coming to accept that the Taliban are a genuine threat to their country, is more concerned about is the lack of any strategy in Islamabad to handle the militants.

The slow disintegration of the peace agreement between the Pakistan government and the Taliban in the Swat valley is worth only half a cheer. President Asif Ali Zardari had dutifully avoided signing the final document. But after the reinstatement of a Chief justice who has indicated his displeasure with the agreement and the outcry over the nature of Taliban justice, Mr Zardari had every incentive to let the agreement become a dead letter. It is unclear whether the Pakistani state will attempt to completely roll back the Taliban’s authority in the valley. In previous ceasefires with militants, it was notable that the military often left the latter’s network in situ.

HT Image

What the world, and Pakistanis who are coming to accept that the Taliban are a genuine threat to their country, is more concerned about is the lack of any strategy in Islamabad to handle the militants. The present alternating for quarterstaff with olive branch is patently ad hoc. Mr Zardari’s plan is for the US to provide a multi-billion dollar bailout of Pakistan despite much evidence that even AIG’s managers are more efficient in using such money. Islamabad has called for Washington to push for political concessions from India and Afghanistan. The argument being only this will allow Islamabad to lower its guard and give up on the Taliban. The military is asking for huge dollops of military aid. None of these singly or collectively amounts to a credible anti-Taliban strategy.