By IPS Correspondents
PESHAWAR, Feb 26 2008 (IPS)

Is the landslide election victory of liberal political parties likely to stem the tide of religious extremism and ‘Talibanisation’ that has engulfed Pakistan’s frontier areas bordering Afghanistan?

Yes, say political observers and leaders of parties ranging from the radical Tehreek Taliban Pakistan to moderate Awami National Party (ANP) in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

Tehreek spokesman Maulvi Umar told journalists over the phone from an undisclosed location on Sunday that his party chief, Baitullah Mahsud, has welcomed the victory of the opposition parties. Mahsud was open to talks, he added.

Mahsud has been blamed for an upsurge in violence in the NWFP and neighbouring Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) since the U.S. launched its ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan. The Musharraf government has said he was behind the end-December killing of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto, a charge he has denied.

"We believe in the policy of non-violence. We have been calling on the U.S. to take the path of negotiation with the tribal people. We can tackle the problem of terrorism and extremism through talks," said Afrasiab Khattak, ANP’s NWFP chief. His party won 33 seats in the125-member NWFP Assembly and 10 in parliament in the Feb. 18 polls, while Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won 19 assembly and 9 parliamentary seats.

An alliance of fundamentalist Islamic groups, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, riding on an anti-U.S. sentiment had routed the ANP and other moderates in the previous general election in 2002.

The MMA secured 77 seats in NWFP Assembly and 59 parliamentary seats in 2002. This time, it won only nine and four seats in the assembly and parliament, respectively. MMA leader Maulana Fazalur Rehman and his three brothers were voted out.

"The MMA’s defeat is a clear indication that people are fed up with extremism. People have suffered a great deal, which led to their voting in liberal parties," Ali told IPS.

Dr Said Alam Mahsud of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) told IPS that "terrorism" was on the wane. Though his party had boycotted the polls, he said he was thankful to the electorate for having elected liberal people. "The MMA had made the NWFP a laboratory of ecclesiastical experiences, introducing half-baked laws mainly on security matters which encouraged extremists," he said in an interview.

Law and order has deteriorated sharply in FATA and adjacent areas in the NWFP. In 2007, at least 60 suicide bombings and bomb attacks killed 300-odd people including security officials. The MMA-led provincial government turned a blind eye.

MMA leaders were also at the forefront of efforts here to close CD and music shops and force men to grow their beards by terrorising shopkeepers and customers. The crusades, eerily reminiscent of the Taliban regime’s in Afghanistan, were strictly enforced despite the lack of popular support.

Pro-Taliban groups virtually took over administrative control of the Pashtun-dominated semi-autonomous North and South Waziristan after Musharraf struck a peace deal in 2006, effectively putting an end to a two-year military campaign to track down remnants of the Taliban which had sought shelter in Waziristan and other border areas after being ousted as the rulers of Afghanistan by the U.S. army.

Violence spilled over into the high mountain valley of Swat in NWFP last year. By December, Pakistan’s military claimed to have retaken Swat from the pro-Taliban militants, killing 300 and forcing the rest to flee into the surrounding mountains.

In early-February, pro-Mahsud militants declared a ceasefire after fierce clashes with security forces in the troubled South Waziristan tribal region. Elections have been postponed in Mahsud dominated areas of South Waziristan.

Maulvi Umar hoped the next government would not repeat the "flawed" policies of President Musharraf and instead, respect the peoples mandate.

"We will continue negotiations with the new government unless war is imposed on us," he said, adding that if the new government stuck to Musharraf’s pro-U.S. policies, Mahsud’s militants would be forced to resume armed attacks.

Researcher Ali confirmed the widening gap between the MMA and the people. "The rising expectations of the masses were not satisfactorily addressed," he said.

The turning point seems to have been PPP leader Bhutto’s assassination after addressing an election meeting in the garrison town of Rawalpindi on Dec. 27. She was campaigning against terrorism despite threats to her life. On Oct. 18, the day she returned to the country from self-imposed exile after nearly nine years, Bhutto’s victory procession was targetted in twin attacks that killed nearly 150 party workers.

"We had sworn to follow in the footsteps of BB (Bhutto), who laid her life for the establishment of peace and an end to extremism. We will tackle the menace of extremism politically. We are hopeful we can succeed," said PPP’s NWFP chief Rahimdad Khan.

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