Taming the Taliban

Arunjana Das

 The Taliban have one more feather in their turbans - Bunner district in Pakistan. According to reports, it is  around 70 miles from the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad, where probably the most dysfunctional democratic head of a nation resides. According to news media reports, the Taliban had tried to take over the ditsrict before but were thrown out by the residents who fought back and threw them out. This time, evidently, they were outnumbered and overwhelmed.
 
The Taliban leaders had already professed that they want to take over the entire country and rule it according to their "supposed" understandings of the commandments of Islam; meaning every non-Muslim country in the East and the West would be on their hit-list and the only place for women would be in the kitchen or their husband's bed or feet. If the women do not give in to their husbands' sexual desires, they would not be fed! That is what Sharia Law that  the Taliban has established in the Swat valley dictates. 
 
All the feminists out there, please go to a place like Pakistan and witness for yourselves how many deaths each woman dies each day. Women in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan are sacrificial machines, besides being mothers, sisters, daughters and nieces. From family "honor" to transfer of punishments, it's the woman who ends up getting flogged, literally, like some petty thief. If you really have the heart of a feminist, go out there and do some real work among women who actually need you. Emanicipating such suppressed women under oppressive regimes through education, economic development and independence is what I would call true emanicipation. 
 
It's hard to believe that when the world is making such strides in science and tcehnology, there are a few nations like Pakistan which are still stuck in a time capsule dating back to the Dark ages. The Taliban and their likes are ragged bunches of illiterate ruffians whose highest level of education might be training in kamikazes, or suicide bombings. Much credit for this education, I believe, goes to the Pakistani "so-called" democratic government, which is simply a front, sort of like a shell company for the real power in Pakistan, the ISI. Ironically, CIA had played its bit in the formation of the ISI post-Cold War. I believe they are sufficiently chastened now by the frankenstein that they had created and which now has gone irreversibly out of hand. As the ISI generously fuels the militant and terrorist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan, rest of the world is wondering how to contain the virus of terrorism. If the Taliban is not stopped, it will soon take over the government assisted by its friends and allies. 
 
I have expressed my fears before of what might happen if the Taliban does take over the government in a coup. Well.. Pakistan is a nuclear-armed country.... The only way to stop the Taliban from adding more feathers in their dirty turbans would be to pressurize the ISI into reigning those ruffians in. Easier said than done.. There are many equations at play here, of course. The international community just can't go about bringing sanctions against the country since they need its help to oust terrorist elements (much good that's doing!) . Also, I believe, the latent and more ominous fear among the international community is that once Pakistan feels like a pariah, it might cease to maintain a semblance of civility and democracy that it is maintaining now and join the terrorists in body and spirit!
 
The international community, hence, at this point of time, fears to tick off the Pakistani government (read ISI). I believe the only way to handle a situation like this is to gather something on the lines of an international peace corp, comprising troops from multiple nations, and launch an offensive against terrorist camps. Indian intelligence officials have already pointed out several terrorist camps in Pakistan, which US has also agreed with. Currently, the only nation involved in such an offensive is the US. Why should other countries wait till there is a 9/11 in their own nations to join the force? The war against terrorism is every sane nation's war. There should be an anti-terror organization among the many agencies of United Nations. Just as the IMF relies on a fixed quota of contribution from its member countries, there should be a fixed quota of troops for the new organization. The US has a pretty advanced set of spy satellites. Combined with intel received from countries neighboring Pakistan such as India, a pretty good strategy of offensive can be devised. The United States cannot fight this war alone. The international community needs to be shaken off its reverie and convinced to play a more active part in rooting out the emnace before it takes over the world.