To mark the second anniversary of the Operation Zarb-e-Azb in the tribal areas Director General Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR) Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa gave a media briefing on the successes of action in the tribal areas as well as intelligence-based operations (IBOs) all over the country. Fata has been cleared, he said, IBOs are continuing, while combing operations started last month targeting terrorist sleeper cells are yielding positive results. Offering an idea of the challenges involved in the fight in North Waziristan where 490 troops embraced martyrdom he disclosed that 3,500 terrorists were killed, 992 hideouts destroyed, 253 tons of explosives recovered, 7,599 improvised explosive devices-making factories smashed, and 2,841 mines and 35,310 rockets seized. Regarding the Karachi operation, he said, 1,203 terrorists belonging to al Qaeda in the Subcontinent, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, TTP and Tehreek-e-Swat, including 636 target killers from proscribed organisations as well as political parties have been arrested. As important as these gains are, military operations alone cannot exterminate the scourge of terrorism.
Conspicuous by absence from the anniversary event was any representative of the government to give an overview of the civilian side of action. In fact, in an indirect reference to shortcomings on the part of civilian authority the ISPR spokesman expressed dissatisfaction about execution of the National Action Plan (NAP). It may be recalled that the federal government had reacted angrily last November to comments emanating from a corps commanders' conference that urged greater civilian cooperation for progress in the fight against terrorism. Its terse reply was that "implementation of the National Action Plan is a shared responsibility, and all institutions have to play their role while remaining within the ambit of the Constitution." Actions, however, speak louder than words. The sad reality is that most of the 20 points in political consensus-based NAP still remain unimplemented. The ISPR spokesman mentioned just four of them: ban on formation of armed militias; revival of National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA); disallowing banned organisations to resurface under new names; and bar on media coverage to extremists/terrorists. There are equally important other points that remain neglected, including regularisation and reform of madressahs; prosecution of elements spreading sectarian violence; reform of the criminal justice system through constitutional amendment and legislation; and measures to stop religious extremism and to protect minorities. The necessary resolve remains missing. Take the example of NACTA revival. Reports at first indicated the finance ministry was reluctant to allocate the required funds. Then the Interior Minister came up with the flimsy excuse that construction of a new building to house the authority was taking time. Surely it could have started functioning out of one of the various government-owned buildings.
Needless to say, the war against terrorism cannot be won through military means alone. Nor is it a short-term fight. The civilian authority has the key responsibility to consolidate gains of military operations and to undertake a sustained campaign to root out extremism in all its forms and manifestations. The government may not have liked it but the ISPR spokesman cannot be faulted for saying the state has to target extremism because extremism has a nexus with terrorism, and that "this has to be done."