The latest peace deal signed by Pakistani President Asif Zardari with Taliban, ceding control of the Swat valley, is another nail in the coffin for the country we know as Pakistan. Today, large swathes of Pakistan are already under Taliban control and strict Sharia law. In a matter of days, these regions have gone back to the Stone Age; schools and colleges have been pulverised, the media gagged and women’s rights have become mere fantasy.

Having tasted blood, the Taliban are not going to limit themselves to the Swat valley. With support from Al-Qaida, Taliban’s next target is Peshawar, followed by Attock in Punjab and finally Islamabad. Once these cities fall through, Lahore and Karachi will have little power to stand as bastions. The bail granted to the radical Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Aziz by Supreme Court — arrested in 2007 — has given another shot in the arm to the anti-establishment forces in Pakistan. It is bewildering that the court paid no heed to the possibility that Aziz would join hands with the Taliban and wage a new war against the state.

Pakistan’s elected government is fast proving ineffectual. This proposition holds dangerous repercussions not just for India, but also for the West — particularly the US. Nobody should forget that Pakistan is a nuclear-armed state — Taliban control of Pakistan’s capital is not very different from terrorists controlling nuclear weapons.

Work’s out

A series of successive holidays in the last two weeks has brought the entire government machinery to a grinding halt at both Centre and states in India. The holidays have come as double whammy on top of the election code of conduct, which had already gagged the working of government departments through the ongoing elections. Many government employees took advantage of two or more holidays falling in a single week; availed leave for the remaining days and went off-work for the full week. Those who actually wanted to work were forced to sit at home. Now there is a suggestion that offices should be open during holidays and employees who report for work should be paid an extra day’s salary. This will at least ensure some productivity in our country where government employees are entitled for 201 holidays in a single year.

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