She is not the first victim of the Taliban’s barbarity nor is she likely to be the last. But the grainy footage of a 17-year-old girl being publicly flogged in Swat has brought home for many the reality of the living hell that is today’s Pakistan. Pinned to the ground and encircled by onlookers, the screaming girl was lashed at least 30 times. Her ‘crime’, according to the Swat Taliban, was to be seen with a man who was not her husband. The identity of her companion is wholly immaterial.
The point at issue is this: what gives the Taliban the right or authority to act as judge, jury and executioner? And this is the answer: their authority stems from the decisions taken by successive administrations, including the government now in power, who chose to cede the writ of the state by striking deals with mass murderers. The state has failed the people of Pakistan and stands guilty by association.
The turning point came in September 2006 with the signing of the Waziristan deal by the Musharraf regime. The state abandoned the people and gave the militants space to regroup, rearm and administer ‘justice’ as they pleased. It should be clear by now that the desired results can never be achieved by negotiating with people who abhor our core values and wish to gain total control over Pakistan.
A complete rethink is in order if we wish to keep at bay forces that will never allow a nuclear state to fall into the hands of the Taliban. A spokesman for the Swat Taliban said the girl who was flogged was shown ‘leniency’. If that is the militants’ concept of compassion, those who argue that there is no such thing as the ‘moderate’ Taliban may have been right all along.
Today we repeat the need to develop a political and social consensus on the issue of militancy. Though in a small minority, there is no shortage of apologists who are either blind to reality or sympathise with the Taliban. An NWFP minister belonging to the ostensibly secular ANP was at pains to stress that the flogging took place before the peace deal was struck in Swat.
The timing, sir, is of no consequence whatsoever. What is clear is that the Taliban will never change their ways until they are compelled to do so. Some religious groups have condemned the incident, but the head of the Jamaat-i-Islami repeatedly evaded the issue in an interview with a television channel. He asked what is “so special” about the girl’s flogging that it deserves so much hue and cry, conflating the incident with the completely unrelated issue of US drone attacks.
Top government leaders have been strong in their condemnation but statements alone will not suffice. The Taliban are not answerable to anyone. But the elected government has some serious explaining to do.
Dawn Editorial
