It remains to be seen whether Wednesday’s joint session of parliament that heard a top general on the Fata situation helps evolve a national consensus on how the war against terrorism is to be conducted.

The war against terrorism is Pakistan’s own war. Those who doubt this should perhaps revisit the hulk of the Islamabad Marriott and recall the agony of the dead and the dying on that Ramazan evening on September 20.

Yet, despite the seriousness of the Taliban’s challenge — a challenge not just to the government of the day but to the Pakistani people’s way of life — the nation’s representatives were never given the impression that it is they who should ultimately determine the direction of the war and chart out a strategy reflecting the nation’s will.
Ignoring the Taliban sympathisers and some conscientious objectors to the military operations, even the right-minded among the MPs were appalled that the government should conduct the battle as a generals’ war and virtually bypass the people’s representatives.

If, therefore, the military is finally reporting to parliament that is how it should be, for the military’s monopolisation of patriotism and policy formulation has done enormous harm to the country and militated against the evolution and consolidation of constitutional institutions which are perhaps the only guarantee of a nation’s political stability. It is also important that a government that is widely viewed as sitting idle as the country bleeds make at least a show of doing something concrete to allay people’s fears.

The briefing comes against a background of talk of peace. Not only do the UN and some European circles seem to be opting for a negotiated solution to the insurgency in Afghanistan, even America has no objection to talks with ‘reconcilable’ Taliban, provided they distance themselves from al-Qaeda.

As a member of the global alliance against terrorism, Pakistan has to be in the picture. After all, parts of Pakistan are a battle theatre, and peace in Afghanistan cannot be a viable proposition without Islamabad being part of the process.

In a sense, Pakistan stands vindicated, for Islamabad had much earlier realised the need for combining force with talks and was quite often reviled, distrusted and subjected to a well-orchestrated ‘do more’ campaign by people who themselves now appear to be doing some rethinking.

The point to note is that Pakistan should not lose sight of its own perspective of the war, and other capitals should not take Islamabad for granted.

What is at stake is our future. Pakistan cannot be allowed to become a theocratic state, for that would nullify the values which Jinnah visualised for this country. On this point, there should be no ambiguity in the MPs’ minds.