Tuesday, June 02, 2009

It seems inappropriate to be celebrating what seems like approaching victory in the battle for Swat. The initial accounts of the scenes in Mingora are horrifying. Corpses are said to lie along streets. There are grotesque stories of stray dogs gnawing them. People report cooking leaves or grass to survive. The injured lie untreated in beds. There are acute shortages of medicine and the International Committee of the Red Cross, after going into Swat, has expressed concern over the situation in hospitals. We do not know if worse may lie ahead as other areas of Swat are freed from the grip of the Taliban. All this of course is the outcome of a war we all wished to avoid but were ultimately forced to go into. However, even in war, there are humanitarian rules that apply. These have been violated in Swat and elsewhere, by both sides engaged in fighting. The rules are aimed essentially at minimizing civilian suffering in war. In contrast the Taliban have attempted to maximize it, holding non-combatants as hostages in one place after the other. The placing of landmines in Mingora is another example of an attempt to inflict harm on innocent women, children and men. But the military too is not entirely blameless. The shortages of food in Mingora had been reported for days. Perhaps a greater effort should have been made to air-drop supplies or make other efforts to prevent starvation.

This of course is easier to say from a distance. The military is engaged in war, even if it is fought within the boundaries of its own country, and its primary target must be to win it. However, given the possibility of further fighting, in Waziristan and elsewhere, some basic parameters are required. The nature of this war and its goal of winning back not just territory but also hearts and minds, means sparing civilian suffering must be a key objective. The scenes we see now in Mingora must be avoided elsewhere. Perhaps we need to think more seriously about mass evacuations of civilian populations. This was proposed by the provincial government at one point. At the very least a better plan is needed to prevent so much misery for so many. This is all the more true given that those left behind in Mingora and other towns are in many cases the most impoverished, who simply cannot leave. They need protection from the state.

The immediate priority must be to rush aid to Mingora and other areas. People there are desperate for help. A plan to offer it, involving international humanitarian groups, the provincial government and local organizations must immediately be put into place. Both in the short and long term there is much to be done. The effort to do so simply cannot be delayed.