EDITORIAL: Defence Minister Khwaja Asif is spot on that a national consensus is desperately needed as terrorism threatens to snowball once again. It’s bad enough that at least one very popular political party still favours talking things out with TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) and settling its fighters in the former tribal areas. But it’s much worse that some of its better known supporters in the media are trying to trigger a very dangerous, unfounded narrative that these bombs and bullets might also serve some political interest groups that seek to delay the general election.
TTP’s attempt to take over a police station in Punjab’s Mianwali district the day after the mosque attack in Peshawar proved, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the enemy is very clear in its thinking. And we do not have to look very far back to know that it is very capable of carrying out the most devastating forms of attacks against all sorts of targets, hard and soft, up and down the country. So it’s best if all political parties set aside all their personal as well as political differences and agree, at least, to stomp out this menace once and for all.
It was national unity, after all, which enabled painstaking yet precise military operations in the 2014-18 window that put an end to TTP’s last war on the state of Pakistan. In hindsight, it is clear that Afghan sanctuary and Islamabad’s ill-advised decision to indulge in peace talks with the outfit enabled it to grow stronger and resume its attack. But it is already too late to right old wrongs, so what might have happened if we had pressed Kabul much harder much earlier, and not fallen for the trap of negotiations, is best discussed another day.
Yet what can and must be done right now is for the whole country to erect a formidable front against this rising wave of terrorism. The people of KP, especially, have made it clear, through mass public rallies, that they are in no mood to offer any sort of accommodation to the Taliban. Instead, they want swift state action to root out its presence from the country. Policemen have also taken to the street to display their resolve in this fight.
Therefore, all stakeholders must immediately hammer out another National Action Plan (NAP), similar to the last one which came after the Peshawar school nightmare. And this time, they must make sure to plug all loopholes identified but left unaddressed last time. For example, the dozens of intelligence agencies that litter the security landscape were urged to improve their information-sharing mechanism, which can go a long way in preempting attacks just like the hit on the Peshawar mosque.
That is because different parts of suicide bombs and vests have to be smuggled separately into target cities, and agencies manning different entry points are able to pick up chatter earlier than others. If crucial information can be shared across the security spectrum in real time, it can become much easier for the command centre to put different pieces of the puzzle together in time to thwart attacks and save lives.
But the most important point is that no meaningful progress is possible until the political elite stands together. And it’s a crying shame that they are unable to put their petty differences aside and stop their schoolboy politics even in the face of such existential disasters. The defence minister is right to call for national consensus on this matter. How different parties respond to this suggestion will show how mature and understanding of the people’s issues, or otherwise, they really are, and how soon the military can go ahead with doing their job.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
Comments
Comments are closed.