Dialogue with the Taliban? Peace march to say ‘no’ to extremism
Faisalabad, Pakistan, 22 February 2014: Pakistan must wake up and seriously consider
the threat posed by the Taliban militancy, formulating an appropriate strategy to
ensure lasting peace. Dialogue must go hand in hand with a clear operational line
of the security forces to stop the violence: is what the participants ask in a "March
for Peace", within the "White Flag" campaign, launched by a wide network of associations
of civil society in Pakistan. The protesters denounced the "inaction of the state
and its institutions", which have so far failed to ensure the safety of citizens.
As reported to Fides, the event, held recently in Faisalabad, was organized by associations
such as "Peace and Human Development", "National Minorities Alliance of Pakistan",
"Association of Women for Awareness & Motivation" .
The "White Flag" campaign
invites all citizens and institutions to hoist white flags on houses, offices and
vehicles as a sign of peaceful protest against extremism and militancy. The march
was attended by people from different communities, origin and religion, students,
lawyers, trade unions representatives, political parties and non-governmental organizations.
Everyone wore white hoods or carried white flags as a sign of the desire for peace.Suneel
Malik, Director of PHD, told Fides: "Dialogue between the government and the Taliban
has so far been confusing and inconclusive. A complete and satisfactory solution to
address the issues of Taliban militancy will only be found when all the insurgents
are included in a platform for negotiation". A political activist, Robin Daniel states:
"The State, by holding direct talks with the Taliban, seems to have recognized them
as a legitimate entity. The militants want to drag Pakistan into the Stone Age, and
want to impose the rule of terror in Pakistan".
The director of "Awam" women's
association, Nazia Sardar, said: "People are tired of hearing about peace talks with
the Taliban: so far seven agreements with several other militant groups have not produced
concrete results".Even for Shazia George " the Taliban should, as a pre- condition,
lay down their arms, adhere to the Constitution of Pakistan, accept the rights of
women and religious minorities in order to participate in negotiations". Political
activist Ashar Iqbal adds: "Dialogue with militant groups should be kept within the
parameters of the Constitution. Peace talks cannot take place next to acts of terrorism.
Violence cannot remain unpunished.
"The coordinator of another association,
Iftikhar Ahmed, remarked that "the real battle is to change the widespread militant
mentality in society, providing opportunities for people". Source: Fides