It is typical of the times and the region we live in that the news about Islamabad banning one of the largest terrorist organisations in the region— Hizbul Mujahideen—is marked by confusion. The reality seems to be that the organisation has not been banned as such. As Pakistan’s interior minister, Faisal Saleh Hayat, had stated, his government had imposed a ban on the organisational activities of the organisation, but not on its leaders and their activities. This is obviously far less than what any rational person, who is interested in seeing all forms of terrorism being wound down, would like to see. Islamabad would have to move well beyond this if it is sincere about a peaceful environment and the resolution of disputes.Islamabad would need to ensure that even the limited ban actually gets implemented with the larger purpose of rolling back violence as the primary instrument of foreign policy. Those familiar with the strategy of employing religious terrorism for political purposes that has existed across our borders for more than two decades would recognise that the restrictions on the Hizbul Mujahideen are notable as a sign of not only what they themselves indicate, but of the promise of what is possible. The very fact that these restrictions have been imposed and there has been no outcry shows that the argument that public opinion in Pakistan would not allow the winding down of support to jihadi organisations has been grossly overstated in the past.Islamabad would have to keep moving forward along the path to control and eliminate terrorism from Pakistani territory as repeatedly promised by President Pervez Musharraf. One of the next steps would be to ban the Hizbul Mujahideen. The excuse that this cannot be done on the grounds that it is “not a Pakistani outfit” is patently untenable. Islamabad must make up its mind whether the steps being taken to move toward normalisation of ties with India, to be followed in due course by a composite dialogue, would remain tactical in nature or are aimed at altering the basic conflictual paradigm that dogs our relations. In other words, are they only meant to get a better reception for General Musharraf in Washington next month or to genuinely seek rapprochement with India?
