Islamabad—As if we were short of issues that divide this country left, right and centre, Jamshed Dasti had to bring up the issue of Kala Bagh Dam at the National Assembly.

Not only did he ask for the construction of the controversial dam but also described its opponents in words that had to be expunged for the sake of decency. This self-declared Robinhood of Muzzafargarh has a knack for creating news. He first hit the headlines by coming to his polling station on a donkey cart. Then he became prominent for returning to the Assembly after his resignation to avoid disqualification for presenting a fake educational degree. Finally, he attempted a crude attempt for publicity by advocating the extension of the former Chief Justice. The latest itching on Kalabagh dam, we suspect, is caused by our Robinhood’s desire to patch up with the Sherriff of Nottingham. Basically, he wants to move to Treasury from the independent benches if offered a lucrative offer.

But this had the debate on the ‘illegal’ construction of dams by India on our waters haywire. The members from smaller provinces were quick to lash out at Punjab instead of discussing Indus Water Treaty. The whole exercise was futile as the Minster of Water and Power was off to the world capital. For obvious reasons, Khawaja Asif likes to focus more on his additional ministry of Defence than on the likelihood of future water wars or, for that matter, power shortages. No wonder our energy crisis keeps turning from bad to worse.

Latest figures indicate that receivables of government-run oil and gas companies have exceeded Rs 225 billion and the monster of the circular debt is, once again, touching the Rs 400 billion mark only in six months. This is largely because remedial steps were not taken after dubiously paying Rs 500 billion to energy companies. People should get ready for another electricity-starved summer once the winter crisis of natural gas is over.

But government actions do not reflect the state of urgency that the hoi polloi have to go through every day. All eyes were set on the Prime Minister for the final verdict on Taliban. We all wanted to know the result of his talkathon with party men. What next? You may wonder why it took the PM eight months, and a thousand dead, to simply check out from its members: hey guys! What do you want me to do? But we are concerned over a more important question: Will it take another eight months for the government to arrive at a decision?

The government, we suspect, has a rather myopic view on the issue. The military operation, important as it may be, is just a small tail of the larger terrorism mammoth. Our politicians have to match it with a comprehensive package of reforms for the de-radicalization of the whole society. It’s not just about the KP, Fata or Balochistan but every nook and corner of this country where people need to be cleansed of the extremist religious narrative. Madrassahs need to be reformed; mosques should be regulated and stopped from spreading hate material, educational curriculum needs to be revised. Police and administration need to be restructured and trained for the task. A complete cultural transformation is required. A holistic model that should take into account local and international factors needs to be devised. It is only the politicians who could tailor such a package.

Unfortunately, we do not get those vibes from our politicians. We have not heard any government minister talking on these lines. The man from Chakri, the head-honcho of our security, could not even handle a gun-toting loony on the main Boulevard of Islamabad. How he will guide us for the restructuring of the entire society is beyond us. No offence to Aichtesonians, the institution was not made for producing scholars and thinkers who could supervise social engineering of a rotten society.

It’s not just a question of capacity, vision and grit. The PM needs to at least own the problem and declare war against the miscreants.

This seems unlikely as the Prime Minister is surrounded by Taliban apologists. His speech writer, who was promoted as special assistant, is known to be the godfather of Taliban. Not long ago he was presented honourary turban (dastarbadi) at that great Taliban nursery for his services to the holy brethren.

Insiders claim that latest gusto that we saw in the government to fnally resolve the problem is because the ruling family also got threats from Taliban. So far, many thought that they were safe as long as they stayed away. It was not a coincidence that the army is being to take the lead. Others are simply scared to own it. Our moles also claim that Imran Khan has asked his party to go-slow against Taliban because this threatens the lives of his extremely scared MPAs. Credit must be given to the ANP which stood against the onslaught despite heavy losses.

The question remains: who will do it and how? Whatever the answer, the most important issue is that the government should initiate a real parliamentary debate—as opposed to the sham one going on right now—and devise a comprehensive policy that should incorporate all strata of society. It should not revolve just around the military operation.

So far, this seems to be missing. We may need special laws and institutions but not in the way the latest security bill is being bulldozed. There are serious issues over powers to shoot suspects at sight and 90 day detention without trial.

Tail piece: The news about the discovery of mass graves in Balochistan is most disturbing. The number of bodies varies from 13 to 25. This has already set alarm bells among the hundreds of people who have their family members missing. This is as grave as any other issue in this country.

Published on: thespokesman.pk

Date: Tuesday, 28 January 2014