The Emergence of Pakistan’s Parliament

Pakistani Parliament House at night. Flickr photo taken by Khalid Bin Ismail, used under a Creative Commons License.  For the first time since Pakistan became a U.S. ally in the "war on terror," Pakistani parliamentarians were given an in-camera briefing from top military officials on the situation in FATA and the NWFP. Under Pervez Musharraf, Pakistanʼs elected representatives were mostly kept in the dark on issues of military strategy and played a limited role in the evolution of a national policy.  Asif Ali Zardari in his inaugural speech had promised this briefing to a joint session of parliament. Lt. General Ahmed Pasha, the newly appointed ISI chief conducted the briefing and shared details of military operations (Operation Rah-e-Haq I and II, Operation Sher Dil) currently underway in Bajaur and Swat.  He told the parliamentarians that more than 2700 militants had been killed in these operations and over 1400 injured.  According to Pasha, a thousand check-posts had been set up along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and informed the group that infiltrators who had been killed or captured were found to have foreign currency on them including the Afghan rupee and US dollar. (Previously the Director General of Military Operations in FATA, suggested that Pashaʼs promotion to the top ISI post does not indicate a major shift in military strategy.) While the briefing was seen by some as a positive step toward developing a national consensus on Pakistanʼs anti-terror policy, it is yet unclear what role parliament will actually be able to play in this regard.  Analysts believe the meeting was convened primarily to gain the parliamentʼs support and not as a way for parliament to influence the policy itself. The elected representatives, however, are expected to debate various aspects of the meeting over the next few days.  It remains to be seen what the actual impact of the discussion will be. Some political leaders such as Nawaz Sharif (PML-N) and Qazi Hussain Ahmed (Jamat-e-Islami) have repeatedly condemned the use of force in Pakistanʼs tribal belt and will not easily be persuaded by the briefing.  Others who attended the meeting expressed dissatisfaction at the details provided and are expected to raise critical concerns about the militaryʼs policy during the question-answer session scheduled for today. The session comes at a time when various parts of the Pakistani government appear aligned in their efforts to combat militancy in the restive tribal belt.  Military operations, which began in full force in August, have support of the local population which has formed lashkars to assist the governmentʼs efforts.  Even the ANP-led provincial government, which had for months adopted a ʽdialogue-firstʼ strategy decided to relinquish this approach and consented to the armyʼs use of force to resolve the growing issue of militancy. Even as Pakistan has stepped up military operations in FATA, calls for reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Taliban have become more urgent.  Since Saudi-mediated talks between the two parties became public several weeks ago, various NATO allies have weighed in favorably at the prospect of peace talks. While British intelligence is assisting the Saudis, the French will host a regional conference requesting Iran and Pakistanʼs help in rapprochement with the Taliban. Even the Americans, who initially seemed reticent, appear increasingly amenable to the idea with Defense Secretary Gates recently endorsing talks with the Taliban. Interestingly, the Pakistani military has urged U.S. and NATO forces ʽto do moreʼ to stop fighters from Afghanistan filtering in to assist their Taliban brethren in Bajaur.  Pakistan army officials have expressed little doubt about cross-border involvement in increased militant activity in Bajaur.