On Sunday, addressing a gathering of thousands of people at Mingora, the main city of Pakistan’s Swat district where the Taliban has been allowed to implement Sharia as part of a peace deal with the Zardari government, hardline cleric Sufi Muhammad, chief of the banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah and the Taliban’s spiritual mentor in the region, made the ultimate Talibanic assertion in the name of Islam and the Quran, which, he argued, Pakistan ought now to follow to save itself from infidels: that there is no room for democracy in Islam and that democracy contravenes the tenets of the Quran. Muhammad accused Pakistan’s rulers of appeasing the West by thrusting the system of kafirs or infidels on the people of the country. The cleric, who had set up Qazi or Islamic courts in Swat even before President Zardari ratified the controversial law that allowed the enforcement of Sharia in the region, said that no appeal could be made against a decision by a Qazi court in civil courts. Thousands of supporters of the Islamic regime cheered the mullah, setting perhaps the final stage of a Talibanic takeover of the whole of Pakistan — and as reflected by the resurgent Taliban’s call the very next day in Swat. On Monday, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan vowed to enforce Sharia across the whole country and ruled out any possibility of laying down arms following the implementation of Sharia in the Swat valley. ‘‘Sharia is not only for Malakand division (of which Swat is a part), it is for all humanity for all Muslims. So we’ll go more for implementation of Sharia not only in the division but other parts of Pakistan also,’’ Khan told the Dawn news channel. He said that the Pakistani Taliban wanted all Muslims to work for the creation of a Caliphate comprising all Islamic nations so that they could make one army, one Shariah-e-Muhammadi, one currency, and then make unity.
The Taliban’s medieval-era vision in the 21st century is not at all surprising, given its jihadi reluctance — and inability — to negotiate the nuances of democracy and modern civilization and jurisprudence. As Pakistan bleeds, thanks to the weak civilian government and the ISI rogues patronizing terrorism as a business venture, and is slipping away beyond recuperation, the portents for India are all the more ominous. The idea of the secular democratic republic of India marching ahead in the comity of nations and being reckoned as a key global player, with its institutional strengths stemming from a deep-rooted democratic tradition despite the aberrations of the day, is a direct challenge to the Talibanic worldview. As more and more areas in Pakistan fall prey to Talibanic designs, essentially terroristic when it comes to dealing with kafirs such as those in India, and as, consquential to the Talibanic spread, all jihadi terror groups, especially the likes of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), come under one umbrella for the making of ‘‘one army’’, it is India in the immediate neighbourhood that will face the greatest threat to its stability. It is time not only for caution and vigil, but also for a special anti-terror grid to counter the Talibanic brand of pan-Islamism and global terrorism. But will our politicians let the professionals in the field have their say, and be heard and approved too — beyond petty electoral considerations and the hullabaloo of pseudo-secularism? THE SENTINEL
The Taliban’s medieval-era vision in the 21st century is not at all surprising, given its jihadi reluctance — and inability — to negotiate the nuances of democracy and modern civilization and jurisprudence. As Pakistan bleeds, thanks to the weak civilian government and the ISI rogues patronizing terrorism as a business venture, and is slipping away beyond recuperation, the portents for India are all the more ominous. The idea of the secular democratic republic of India marching ahead in the comity of nations and being reckoned as a key global player, with its institutional strengths stemming from a deep-rooted democratic tradition despite the aberrations of the day, is a direct challenge to the Talibanic worldview. As more and more areas in Pakistan fall prey to Talibanic designs, essentially terroristic when it comes to dealing with kafirs such as those in India, and as, consquential to the Talibanic spread, all jihadi terror groups, especially the likes of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), come under one umbrella for the making of ‘‘one army’’, it is India in the immediate neighbourhood that will face the greatest threat to its stability. It is time not only for caution and vigil, but also for a special anti-terror grid to counter the Talibanic brand of pan-Islamism and global terrorism. But will our politicians let the professionals in the field have their say, and be heard and approved too — beyond petty electoral considerations and the hullabaloo of pseudo-secularism? THE SENTINEL
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