Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has severely criticised the US policy of taking unilateral action against Taliban leaders without taking Pakistan into confidence. This condemnation came in the wake of killing of Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who was killed in a drone strike on May 21 inside Pakistani territory near the Afghan border. While addressing a press conference, the minister said that the strike would have “serious implications” for relations with the US, describing the incident as “completely against the UN Charter and international law.” Nisar has pointed out a number of issues while raising important questions. Firstly, he refuted the US claims that Mullah Mansour was reluctant to come to the negotiating table. Rather, the minister revealed, it was Mullah Mansour who was leading the Murree peace talks on behalf of the Taliban. Secondly, Nisar questioned that Mullah Mansour travelled to many countries, and if he was a threat why he was targeted only when he was in Pakistan. He also castigated the US approach of killing its enemies “wherever they are.” He said that this policy could prove disastrous if other countries also started following it, which in turn would create chaos in the world and the law of jungle would prevail. He said that Pakistan could not confirm Mansour’s death without proper scientific/forensic evidence. It is to be noted, however, that the Taliban leadership confirmed that Mansour had been killed and announced the selection of Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, a deputy to Mullah Mansour, as the new leader of the Taliban, and Sarajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Muhammad Yaqoub as his deputies. Finally, Chaudhry Nisar announced that a strategy to deal with the issue would be made after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s return to the country. He said a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) would be called to discuss the scenario regarding the continuation of peace process after the killing of Mullah Mansour.
There is little doubt that the killing has badly affected relations between Pakistan and the US, as well as pushing into the corner the ongoing peace process being pursued by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group. The US alleges that Mullah Mansour was reluctant to be engaged in talks, but the thing to remember here is that the use of force has failed to prove an authentic deterrence against militancy in Afghanistan. The US has been using drone strikes since Musharraf regime to achieve its objectives, but it has failed to eliminate the Taliban. The only way to bring peace is talks with those factions of militants who are ready to quit violence. Earlier, the Murree dialogue was also ruined by the news of Mullah Omer’s death, and now the killing of Mullah Mansour has shattered all foreseeable hopes for peace. The questionable legal status of using drones is not merely as issue for Pakistan as a sovereign state, but it also troubles even key US allies. The death and destruction caused by US strikes, conveniently termed as ‘collateral damage’ is breeding resentment in affected communities, potentially boosting rather than undermining terrorist recruitment efforts.
At the same time, Pakistan also needs to review its policies regarding the treatment of the Taliban. In the spirit of government’s commitment to elimination of all forms of terrorism, it is imperative that Pakistan walks the talk. Expulsion of Afghan Taliban housed in Pakistan must be carried out without much ado, as it is evident that without this development no peace plan would see much success. The segregation of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban has wreaked havoc on Pakistan’s internal and border stability, and the significance of Pakistan’s readiness, without any ambivalence, to honour its part in the peace process cannot be over-emphasised. And there is no escaping the foreboding scenario: the failure of the peace process would delineate that the future stability of South and Central Asia remains an elusive dream. There is no real alternative to a dialogue to resolve long-standing issues between any two parties embroiled in a bloodied conflict, and there is no country that deserves to have peace more than Afghanistan.http://dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/27-May-16/dialogue-the-only-way-to-peace
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