Pakistan’s decision to let Taliban control the Swat valley will have far-reaching consequences for the world, especially India.
Pakistan’s decision to let Taliban control the Swat valley in return of a ceasefire will have far-reaching consequences for the world, especially India.
“This will impact the world, not just India, Russia, Iran or China. And the US. The Pakistan army will not fight the al-Qaeda inspired jihadi warriors in the Swat area. The Americans will have to realise that the Pakistan military can never be sincere in fighting jihadis in either their own country or in the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” said analyst K Subrahmanayam.
“The world community has to come together to contain a talibanised Pakistan,” he added.
Is it the beginning of the end of Pakistan as a moderate Islamic state? Perhaps it is too early to say that, but the agreement with the Taliban in the Swat valley is an ominous sign of things to come.
The Taliban gain will encourage terror outfits in Pakistan, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jamaat-ud-dawa and other anti-India groups, to continue terror strikes against India.
Former diplomat KC Singh said it is not a question of the Pakistan army not being able to fight in the Swat valley as much as a desire not to take on the Taliban.
He saw a scenario where the Taliban influence, present in the middle and lower ranks of the armed forces, may penetrate deeper, creating a professional jihadi force, which will be a danger to the world.
“The danger is the spread of radical ideology in the entire region and every branch of Pakistani establishment,” strategic analyst C Uday Bhaskar said. “In the short term, it will not directly affect India. But if the jihadi power spreads to Punjab, the index of terror strikes against India will definitely go up.”
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said the situation in Pakistan is “a concern” and warned that extremists there posed a direct threat to the country as well as to the security of US, Afghanistan and a number of other nations in and outside the region.
State Department spokesperson Gordon Duguid said Islamic law was within Pakistan’s constitutional framework.
France said it would be a setback for girls and women’s rights. Nato led a growing chorus of concern by warning that the truce risks giving the extremists a “safe haven”.
(With agency inputs)
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