'Pakistan must learn from Sri Lanka's success against LTTE'

Pakistan must learn from Sri Lanka's success against the now vanquished LTTE to fight the Taliban insurgency in the country, a senior police officer has said, arguing that using decisive force could be the only solution.
Mohammad Ali Babakhel said in an article published by Dawn newspaper today that the Lankan forces' all-out onslaught against the Tamil Tigers can be replicated in Pakistan against the Islamist rebels.
"The Sri Lankan strategy shows that with military might and popular support the state can defeat insurgents," Babakhel said in the op-ed article.
"If the (Sri) Lankan model cannot be replicated, at least it can be a source of inspiration (for Pakistan)."

The officer, Deputy Inspector General of Mardan, drew a comparison between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and militant groups in Pakistan and said they are different as well as have similarities.
The officer said the LTTE had naval and air powers but they used suicide bombings to perfection.

Sri Lankan government held six rounds of talks before the final assault. But the militants always used the talks to rearm themselves much like the Pakistani Taliban.
The Sri Lankan experience shows that militants should be isolated and their funds dried for any success against them, he said.
"The Sri Lankan model indicates that decisive force is the only solution."

He said: "With the tough policy defined by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka won what appeared to be an unwinnable war."
The article, however, missed key differences between the two insurgencies.
Taliban are part of a worldwide Islamist insurgent network linked to al-Qaeda and not a local entity.
Also, the landscape is different and Taliban have more favourable conditions for fighting.
There is another vital difference as Pakistan militants have a solid support base and networks within the country and also their funds come from locals.