Dawn - Provinces | Risk of reprisals

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In cautioning the government against depending on private militias for fighting the Taliban, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has raised a valid point of concern.

As the HRCP conceded, it is true that the government faces enormous law and order challenges in Swat and other parts of Malakand. While the military has been largely successful in breaking the hold of the Taliban, pockets of resistance remain.

The affected areas consist of remote settlements and large swathes of unpopulated mountainous regions, making it easy for terrorists to vanish at will. And then there’s the fact that a Taliban sympathiser is overtly indistinguishable from a peaceful citizen until he chooses to show his true colours. These circumstances render daunting the task of eradicating the militant menace for good.

That said, over-reliance on highly armed private militias may prove to be a step that the country comes to regret. Given the great anger that exists among the local population against the Taliban, there is a danger the lashkars may morph into uncontrolled reprisal armies. As the HRCP pointed out, ‘it is difficult to control the private militias and neither the government nor the military can vouch for their conduct.’

Already, there have been reports of the lashkars perpetrating not only reprisal attacks but also being used as tools for settling private scores. In some cases, the killings are disturbingly reminiscent of Taliban tactics. The region cannot afford to turn the effort to root out the Taliban into a witch-hunt. As Gandhi observed, ‘an eye for an eye leaves us all blind.’

The responsibility of ensuring peace in the region must rest with the state and its functionaries. While the involvement of civilians with local know-how has proved valuable — and may continue to do so — limits must be laid on the scope of their participation.

The government must find means of ensuring that any suspected terrorist is produced after his capture before a competent court of law, and that every death is fully investigated. Ordinary citizens, who lack the constitutional authority to conduct trials, must not be placed in the role of judge, jury and executioner.