Military means alone cannot tackle insurgency: Governor NWFP

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Mariana Baabar
ISLAMABAD: The governor of the NWFP on Wednesday said the country’s stand that the insurgency in Afghanistan and the lawlessness in Pakistan, arising from militancy and terrorism, could not be solved by military means alone had been vindicated.

“Pakistan has always maintained and I said so publicly even last month that we should talk to our opponents, even if this means talking to Mulla Omar. Today, the world is talking about it. This is an opportunity in the interest of Pakistan, so ensure that we do not lose it. The conditions and environment for such a dialogue have been created and we have to ensure that we act because the future of Pakistan depends on this,” NWFP Governor Owais Ghani said while speaking to members of the media in Islamabad.

He said his coming out in the open had not happened in a vacuum; rather, it had been the result of behind-the-scene heated debates with members of the world community, including the United States and the United Kingdom.

“Great Britain was the first to bring it into the open and we even managed to get a response from Gulbadin Hikmatyar,” he added. Ghani said it had to be accepted that each country would keep its own strategic fundamentals in mind and Pakistan was no exception.

“Pakistan is a state facing an ideological retreat. While it is the battle of arms and ideas, we see the battle of ideas nowhere but it is time that we put an end to this retreat,” he said.Ghani admitted that it was very much a localised issue for Pakistan but said the solution had to be regional and international as a local solution would not hold.

The governor shrugged aside ideas that the recent setting up of armed local Lashkars would be disastrous because this would envisage a civil war in the future.“No, this will not happen as it is a normal phenomenon and the Lashkars would not go beyond the borders of the tribes. The political agent is the centre and all government agencies are supporting him. Containment will come at the local level,” the governor said.

Initially, an excellent background briefing was given by additional chief secretary Fata Habibullah Khan, who explained how foreign actors in the region weakened the Maliks of the region and took over the administration of different areas on the Pak-Afghan border while the state watched helplessly.

APP adds: The governor appreciated the role of the media and hoped it would avoid glorification of the terrorist groups and their leaders. Rather, he said, their nefarious designs should be exposed and the nation should be motivated to join hands with the government to stop them killing innocent people through blasts and suicide attacks.

The government of the NWFP, he said, had formed a policy coordination committee that meets every month to review the ongoing operation in the Fata. This committee consists of top level officials of the relevant agencies and departments.

“We are working with a coordinated approach, keeping in view the ground realities as well as the national consensus on the issue.”In policy-making on the war against terrorism, he said position and views of all stakeholders were taken into consideration.

“No single person has the authority or the capacity to form the policy and dictate in the matter,” he said, adding, “No government in the country can go against the popular will of the people.”

The basic objective of the government is to save the lives of innocent people. The policy adopted during the last few months, he said, had helped the country to successfully avert certain threats to the national security and now the situation was returning to normalcy in most parts of the affected areas.

Replying to a question, Owais Ghani said he did not consider terrorist activity as a law and order problem, but added it was militancy that meant to challenge the writ of the government.He reiterated the government’s position that it was Pakistan’s own war in Fata, which was the worst victim of terrorism and extremism. However, he said the issue could only be resolved on a long-term basis with the cooperation of the world community.

“We need to address the root causes of terrorism that include economic deprivation and socio-economic injustices”.He said the newly-elected government was fully alert and effectively engaged in correcting the past mistakes and handling the affairs with a national approach, by taking public representatives into confidence.

He emphatically urged the media to build up public trust and confidence in the government, seeking their maximum support to ensure peace and tranquillity.About the stakeholders in the war against terrorism, the governor said the interest of the entire world was involved in it and it was the responsibility of the world and more particularly the regional countries to help wipe out the wave of terrorism and extremism, ensuring lasting peace and development.

He said the government strongly believed in holding dialogue with extremist groups to resolve the issue peacefully. “We are prepared for across-the-board dialogue for the sake of peace,” he said, while categorically stating that the national interests would never be compromised.

No pressure from any quarter will be accepted to this effect, he added.The governor clarified while holding dialogue with certain groups, the government could not compromise on strategic fundamental issues of national or regional importance. Safeguarding national integrity and protecting the rights of the people are the basic responsibilities of the government, which will always remain its top priority.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17830