EDITORIAL: Surely authorities understand very well just how close they came to a terrorism nightmare in Swat the other day, when a convoy carrying ambassadors and representatives from over a dozen countries – some with their spouses – was caught in an explosion on Malam Jabba road in KP’s Swat district.
Yet such is the cold, heartless nature of terrorism that while the nation will mourn the one brave policeman that was martyred in the incident, it will also breathe a sigh of relief that it was spared the international condemnation that would have come with a larger loss of life, especially foreign dignitaries, just as it desperately tries to wipe clean its security credentials and project itself as a stable and solid frontier for foreign investment.
Swat was very much expected to light up as soon as the insurgency revived following the return of the Afghan Taliban to Kabul a couple of years ago. And it did as remnants of the TTP force which briefly snatched power there last decade went active once again.
In fact, if authorities had only listened to local tribesman warning of just such a situation ahead of time, perhaps they would have had to divert less resources and attention to the district now, and face much less embarrassment for it. Regardless, as things stand, Swat is once again a hot spot in a terror wave that is constantly gaining momentum.
Yet interestingly TTP, which all fingers were pointing at, has denied responsibility this time. This could be one of its old tactics, of course, creating illusions and misleading the security establishment. Or it could well be the handiwork of foreign intelligence outfits that have been known to leverage, even direct, insurgencies inside Pakistan.
The fallout of foreign ambassadors and state guests getting hurt or killed in a terror attack would have been disastrous, playing into the hands of the kind of forces that want to destabilise the country. It would also have dealt a fatal blow to efforts to stimulate tourism, considering that the guests were in the district to attend the Swat Tourism Summit organised by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Either way, this was an unacceptable and unforgivable intelligence failure on the part of the security forces. From the information about travel plans being leaked all the way to the information about the explosive device not being picked up, there are many questions to answer. For even as the security and intelligence establishments would have gone right back to the drawing board, officials in ministries as wide-ranging as finance, commerce and sports would also have thrown their hands up in despair.
Another insurgency, which is what we have on our hands, will not only divert and drain the military once again, it will also compromise all sorts of efforts to attract foreign investment and people to Pakistan.
The government must give this matter its utmost attention. Investigating the failure in Swat, especially if foreign hands were involved, is something that should end with a wider document, detailing all that will be needed to crush this wave of terror once and for all.
We have wasted time, money and above all, precious human lives, in all the time we’ve failed to come to a final decision about dealing with this enemy. We have tried to talk to them and to the Afghan government, with no result.
Lately, the government has tried to take the international community on board also through the UN (United Nations). That is appreciated, but a stronger, much more direct, approach is also needed.
Now it needs a stronger, much more direct approach.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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