The aftermath of Sufi's release

By: Khadim Hussain

THE Amir of the Tahrik-i-Nifaz-i-Sharia’at-i-Mohammadi (TNSM), Sufi Mohammad, was released on April 23, 2008 after serving a prison sentence in Dera Ismail Khan jail for quite some time.

Sufi Mohammad had led an uprising against the government in 1994 and had brought the whole administration of Malakand Division, situated in the North West Frontier Province, to a standstill till the government carried out an operation and curbed his movement.

The government had then promulgated the Sharia’a Nizam-i-Adl Ordinance of 1995 in Malakand Division (Swat, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Shangla, Buner and Chitral) but the TNSM leadership was avowedly unhappy with the measure of influence allowed to the clergy in the judicial process of Malakand Division. The government had then revised the ordinance and had promulgated another version, giving more clout to the clergy, in 1999.

When the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001, Sufi Mohammad mobilized some 10,000 fighters and went to Afghanistan to help his ideological patrons in that country. Hundreds were killed in battles with the Northern Alliance and hundreds are still missing in the army of zealots from Malakand Division who accompanied Sufi Mohammad for ‘jihad’ while the leader returned unscathed to Pakistan. He was then arrested and put behind bars.

The NWFP government has released Sufi Mohammad ostensibly as a confidence-building measure to facilitate a dialogue with the ‘Pakistani Taliban’. The move is also seen as having the potential of taking the ‘moderate Taliban’ led by Sufi Mohammad on board. This is apparently meant to bring about an ever-lasting peace in the high intensity conflict zones of the NWFP. The reduction of attacks on the civilian and government installations in recent weeks and the reported statement by Baitullah Mehsud on April 23, 2008 are seen to be the result of these political moves by the newly elected government of the NWFP.

Some reports in the national and international media also suggest that the government may succeed in bargaining for the release of the abducted ambassador of Pakistan to Afghanistan, Tariq Azizuddin, who has been held hostage by the ‘Taliban’ in dubious circumstances. Government circles continuously refute the claims of some analysts in this regard. At the same time, two prominent people have come under attack in Swat in the last one week — Baidar, an SHO who has been critically injured in Kanju township, and Muhammad Hussain, a lawyer and the nazim of union council Kabal who was killed. The Taliban affiliated with Fazlullah are presumed to be responsible for these attacks.

The US officials keep sending notes of ‘concern’ to the international media to communicate to the newly elected government their reservation regarding the dialogue process. The UK minister of foreign affairs held discussions with the central and the NWFP governments on the issues related to the ‘war on terror’. The concern of the US and UK governments that the dialogue might give an opportunity to the armed militants with links with the Al Qaeda to regroup is also shared by a section of the public in Swat and Malakand Division at large. There are people who believe that instead of sidelining the hardliners, the release of Sufi Mohammad might give them courage to continue with their ‘agenda’ of imposing ‘Shariah’ in Malakand Division.

The crucial questions being asked by the intelligentsia around the globe are: is there any link between local militants and Al Qaeda on the one hand and the fighting against the US and Nato forces in Afghanistan? Is the ‘Jama’at-Wahabi (Deobandi)-Brotherhood alliance’ still intact?

These crucial questions prompt us to take a harder look at the matter from the perspective of the eternal conflict between the pan-Islamist movements and the global capitalist agenda of de-regulation, liberalisation and neo-imperialism. This discourse also takes us to investigate the US geostrategic interests and the ‘new great game’. As there are several missing links or unexplained hidden knots in the whole story, the intelligentsia and the public opinion around the globe are anxious to understand the outcome of both the ‘war on terror’ and the process of ‘dialogue’.

The public opinion in Swat and elsewhere in Malakand Division is divided on the outcome of the release of Sufi Mohammad. One section — the middle class businessmen, professionals and educated circles — think that with the release of Sufi the demand for the implementation of the proposed Sharia’a Nizam-i-Adl Ordinance might be renewed. That, according to them, means that Malakand Division might go into the hands of the clerics once and for all. They think that the situation in Malakand Division might even slip into the quagmire of warlordism as has happened in the case of Afghanistan before. Other section of the public opinion suggests that the release might help the ‘moderate’ elements of the armed militants to mobilise public opinion against the ‘hardliners’ which may ultimately lead to peace in the region.

The common people of Swat are probably too perplexed to decipher the complex situation that keeps changing at an amazingly fast pace. They might be interested to see a comprehensive strategy for rehabilitation and a plan for holistic development of their valley. Swat valley has yet to come to a normal and routine life. Restoration of tourism is still a far cry. Businesses in the urban centres are still under the shadow of an unknown sword of Damocles.

Though the situation in the valley has considerably improved in recent times there is still fear lurking on the banks of the River Swat, in the streets of towns and in the orchards and forests of the green hills surrounding the valley. Cultural activities like music and mushairas, once a hallmark of the lively nature of the people, are still in the doldrums. The historical and cultural heritage of the valley is still in danger. Any observer who visits the devastated villages of this Switzerland of Asia clearly finds confusion, perplexity and uncertainty in the eyes of the common people.

Who will bring certainty and hope back to the weary eyes of the hapless population? The newly elected government probably cannot afford to ignore this aspect of the issue. A poet has given voice to the feelings of the people in this manner:

Ruins have germinated
In the land of flowers
Who turned my village?
Into a symbol of devastations

(The writer is an Islamabad based socio-political analyst.
Email: khadim.2005@gmail.com)