Faisalabad carnage

The murder of a human being is highly condemnable and cannot be atoned for, howsoever holy may be the perpetrator's objective. No religion allows this inhuman act, much less Islam which declares in most unambiguous terms that the murder of a single human being is equal to the murder of entire humanity.
Wanton killing of dozens of innocent people and injuries to twice that number cannot escape the definition of this injunction. That the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility as revenge for the killing of a militant does not pass the basic test of authenticity and verification. But there are no two opinions about the fact that some elements in Pakistan willingly (or for suitable reward) have become tools in the hands of forces bent upon shaking the very ideological foundations of Pakistan. Who are these forces the government has failed so far, at least in public eyes, to identify.
And what should be the strategy to effectively deal with this enemy, which has imposed a hidden but destructive war on Pakistan? Much more needs to be done, intelligently and with due diligence. More important is to place this incessant menace in a realistic perspective and try clearly defining the enemy instead of airing unfounded misgivings and various shades of self-created perceptions.
The need to comprehend the enemy's objective and reconcile it with the ground was always there. But of late, two separately-made statements and an order, by two important sources tend to bring it under realistic focus. The status of these sources aptly underscores the imperative of revisiting the not-so-far successful strategy to combat the spawning terrorism, which seems to be extending its circle by the day.
The anger over the expression "Punjabi Taliban" is denial of the ground realities, as the Faisalabad carnage amply demonstrates. Merely raising protective high walls and impeding roadblocks can hardly restore the confidence of the people in their personal safety. On the other hand, these protective steps tend to cast Pakistan in the image of a besieged nation.
The statement we mentioned above comes from the man who is the overall incharge of military operations in the Fata region. In a briefing to the media in Miranshah on Tuesday, the General Commanding 7 Corps, Major General Ghayur Mehmood said that in the drone attacks, since 2007, over seven hundred were killed, including important militant leaders. He did concede "a few civilian casualties in such attacks," saying he would like to clear "myths and rumours" about the number of casualties.
In some way, this assertion tends to vindicate Prime Minister Gilani's much-maligned WikiLeaks-reported remark that we would look the other way on drone attacks. Unless disputed and rebutted by more authentic information, the claim made by the GOC holds ground. The order we referred to above was made by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who heads the two-member bench hearing a petition on the law and order situation in Balochistan.
He asked the provincial government 'to take premier intelligence agencies on board' as 'their cooperation could bring about significant improvement in the situation'. Unless we misinterpreted the apex court's order, if so we would apologise, the failure of the civilian set-up to catch and punish the culprits involved in kidnapping, large-scale killings, particularly of senior educationists and even tracing out the missing has come under sharp focus.
The carnage at Faisalabad is the work of hidden forces that are out to destroy Pakistan. The threat is all-encompassing and calls for a dispassionate study by all, including the political elite, which tend to figure it out guided (or misguided), by their individual takes on this threat. That attitude should be revisited and modified in accordance with emerging realities. Their currently scattered positions brook no comprise with the reality and magnitude of this threat. More importantly, the government should break out of the one-dimensional strategy. There is the ground, more detectable than before, to employ all possible channels to isolate the hard core of militants from the general public. This is doable. The largely foreign-funded threat to the country must be taken head-on, intelligently and pragmatically.