Source:ET
New battle lines have been drawn. The military-mullah alliance that shaped and sustained our deeply entrenched policy on Afghanistan and Kashmir is now under severe strain. Secrecy has been an important tool used by the security apparatus to fight the war on terror — much of which was fought selectively against the bad Taliban with the ‘good’ ones left alone as they were considered our secret assets, who not only enjoyed state patronage but also enjoyed the welcome, warmth and hospitality of many madrassas spread all along the western front. In fact, most Taliban are the beneficiaries and products of the same madrassas.
Was the political and military elite thinking about the Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led response and how it would shape and draw the new battle lines when the 21st Amendment was being introduced? The military and the entire nation are now confronted with this swiftly developing dangerous situation in which the good Taliban are also threatening to become bad. And guess who is threatening to lead such a revolt — Maulana Fazlur Rehman. He is not only a staunch supporter of the Taliban but is also somebody who has been visiting the US and the European Union in the 1990s to seek and secure support for the Taliban. As far as his Arab contacts are concerned, they date back to the time when the Arab rulers of Saudi Arabia and the UAE were invited to Pakistan and for whom he arranged hunting trips in Kandahar. Much of the financial support that the Maulana is able to muster and which our interior minister claims is difficult to monitor and detect comes from such Arab rulers.
Categories: Asia