ISLAMABAD – Few survived the Arab spring that started from Tunisia but soonbecame a call across the Arab world. It did not reach Pakistan but theidea appealed to the like-minded.
Post 9/11, Pakistan had to make a tough call. Clear out insurgents or becleared off the map.
Soon after, Balochistan stood on the verge of freedom from the greaterState. The victim accused Pakistan of being a repressive state clawing onthe prey due to its resources. The opposite narrative where the elders ofdominant tribes continued to enjoy state benefits and feudalism to keep afollowing was overturned when negotiations failed to pave the way for thesocio-economic betterment and law enforcement agencies in the area weretargeted.
Days later, in resistance, a prominent leader was killed by the forces.Protests against the killing and arrests that followed later made way tothe international press and few local sleeper cells were activated.Balochistan suddenly became an occupied land but a perfect pretext toengage Pakistan silently.
When many thought Pakistan had seen it all, there came another uprising.Not in months but days. Shorthanded as PTM, with one leading man, theFederally administrated area in the Northwest of Pakistan took at the stateand its agencies once again.
The slogans raised were not new but become a threat to the normalization ofthe valley. The area was cleared of insurgents when Pakistan launched itsown war on terror. Like the previous movement that took place inBalochistan, the PTM was not short of international sympathy. Manyquestioned the legality of the protest and demands made by PTM but perhapswhen protests are designed to achieve goals other than the genuinegrievances of the actual group – legal means are not in the handbook.
Recent reports of clashes between the followers of PTM and the AmmanCommittee are followed by Pakistan’s decision to merge those tribal areasinto KPK. The news was enough to suck out the oxygen the PTM thrived on.Pakistan is securing its Afghan front with a fence. The supporters of PTMon the other side of the fence are not pleased – with the fence and themerger of FATA.
Genuine protests in most countries are resolved without third-partyintervention. Stronger governments turn to the means necessary to not leavea vacuum for exploitation. In case of Pakistan, the support for suchmovements raises alarms when other states or certain actors in form ofactivists are involved. Protests then do not remain protests but proxiesagainst a state.The clash between the PTM followers and the Amman committee andAfghanistan’s escalation on the border are not mere coincidences but theenemy’s enemy is a friend proxy at play. If not understood and addressedurgently, the clash between the PTM and local bound peace committee couldspring a civil war type situation for Pakistan.
Pakistan does not need to read the older chapters of world history nor itsown but only the recent. Protests have turned into civil wars, civil warshave led to more wars. Pakistan remains to be an active ground for suchproxies that when combined are more lethal than direct attacks. Pakistanhas been dodging the invisible bullets, but to counter the recent act byPTM, it needs to address the cause no matter how uncomfortable it may be.
BY: Aisha Saeed