IT is encouraging to note that the PPP is now pushing for greater engagement of public representatives in ongoing negotiations with the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari recently tweeted that he will be reaching out to allied parties currently in the coalition government to form a consensus on the way forward and that his party believes all decisions on talks with the TTP to thrash out a peace deal should be taken in parliament. The people of Pakistan deserve at least that. The Pakistani state and both the incumbent and recently ousted governments have been incredibly opaque on the matter thus far. Despite months of talks, we still know only the broad contours of the discussions taking place. There is a concern in some quarters that negotiators may be making too many concessions to the TTP, for too little in return. Pakistan has reportedly already released many captive foot soldiers and a few high-ranking militants to keep the talks going, even though the UN Security Council has warned that the prospects for actual peace being attained are very weak. There is also a lack of clarity on how far the negotiators will accede to the TTP’s reported demands for unchallenged autonomy and a parallel legal system in north-western parts of Pakistan’s sovereign territory.

For the Pakistani people to not have been made a party to these talks is a grave injustice. The TTP’s fight was never directed solely against the government or security forces, that they may now decide the matter amongst themselves. The people of Pakistan paid in life, limb and livelihood for the nearly two-decade war against these rogue outfits and their twisted ideologies. At the very least, they deserve an explanation for why the need for a peace deal is being felt now, what good it will accomplish and how the TTP will be made to make amends for the many grievous injuries and injustices it caused our people. For this reason, a parliamentary debate is important. Retired Gen Raheel Sharif’s appointment to head a Saudi-led counterterrorism coalition in 2017 had been a similarly sensitive and contentious issue, but discussion on the matter in parliament had at least given public representatives a chance to have their say on the matter. This is a far more serious matter, and the country will be well-served if there is an honest public debate to chart a path forward.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2022