Backgrounder: Pakistan Taliban Movement
The terrorist activities have spread in the world like a cancer. Earlier these activities were mainly restricted in middle-east, but the attacks of 9/11 on America saw the leap of courage of the terrorist, which left a great impact on the world. This was a conflict between extremist Muslim group and USA. It was an attack made by the fundamentalist Islamic organization against the western liberal world. There were many terrorist organizations involved in this attack. One of the major groups involved in this act was Taliban. Since then Taliban has been declared as a terrorist group.
Who are the Taliban?
Taliban is an Islamic fundamentalist political movement of Afghanistan. Mohammed Omar who serves as a spiritual leader since its foundation is also the founder of this terrorist group. The majority in this group is consisting of an Afghan tribe named as Pashto.
Origin of Taliban
In 1980, when the major part of world was engaged in the cold war, Pakistan was training the 90,000 Afghans including Mohammed Omar to fight a war against Soviet Union. There was a Soviet war in Afghanistan. The then president of Pakistan Muhammad zia-ul-Haq feared of Soviet’s invasion on its Baluchistan province of Pakistan, so, he garner Afghans to act as buffer from such intrusions. In 1989 the Soviet Union retreated from Afghanistan, this given rise to mujahideen (soilders of god) forces to capture and control the Afghanistan in 1996 and made Kandahar its capital.
The Taliban spread throughout the Afghanistan and had a control over it. Taliban also acted as a government of the Afghanistan and ruled for several years i.e. from 1996 to 2001. It got the diplomatic recognition from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Ideology of Taliban
They strictly follow the Sharia or Islamic law. The Taliban militants are influenced by Deobandi fundamentalism and religious nationalism. World condemns them for their brutal treatment to women. The fundamental rights of the women in Taliban were stripped off; they have no longer access to education, better health facilities and they are under virtual house arrest. Moreover, they are abused and torture for being a women. The women are bound to wear Burkha. Malala Yousafzai a Pakistani blogger, a female activist and a Nobel laureate was shot in head by the Taliban militants because she advocated the women education (Women were banned of education in that region by Taliban).
Taliban tried to spread the austere version of Islamic law in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Owing to this in both the countries they supported the punishments based on the Islamic law, such as public execution of the murder convicts, adulterers and dissection of body of those who found guilty in theft. There is a compulsion on men to grow beards.
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Pakistan has a major share in the development of Taliban. It has been already discussed above that how Pakistan had architected it in 1990s.
The Taliban militants are the young men, who are trained in ultra conservative religious schools in Pakistan. They have also provided Taliban with primary support system and also give them military and personal aids like equipments, training assistance and advise them about tactics from time to time. Pakistan had also supported the leaders of Taliban during U.S. operation in Afghanistan by giving place to hide in their country. Pakistan is the last country to break the diplomatic relations with Taliban.
After the fall of Taliban of Afghan in 2001, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been created in 2007 under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud in Pakistan. Its goal was to establish their rule in the Federally Administered tribal Areas of Pakistan. It is an ally of Afghan Taliban however; the Afghan Taliban denies of affiliations with TTP. The aim of TTP is to overthrow the Pakistani government and truly implement Sharia law throughout the Pakistan. Recently, TTP has made a deadliest attack on the Peshawar school killing hundreds of innocent children. This attack was a revenge of Pakistan’s military attack on the tribesmen and their children.
From the above scenario it is clear that, Pakistan had also played a major role in bringing up the terrorist organization named as Taliban, which in turn has given rise many small such organizations. Such extremist groups are causing threat to Pakistan itself, which also a hindrance to their development. The conflicts occur every now and then, suicide bomb attack, militant attacks, etc. are the common sights in Pakistan.
How Pakistan should respond on this problem?
The solution is based only on military support won’t work here because TTP can fight back massive military expeditions in this region. To bring control over this problem, Pakistan should seek for military as well as political and institutional solutions. The tribal people in that autonomous region need to be integrated into Pakistani society. Feeling of oneness should be developed among tribals for the nation.
