The sudden rise in terror incidents in the country is being attributed to the nexus between the terrorist groups with their sleepers' cells which are yet to be eliminated due to lack of focus of the government on security issues.
According to security officials and analysts, the government's focus on Panama papers instead of overall security situation in the country, has created space for the sleeper cells of terror outfits which account for the recent rise in terror incidents including in Sehwan Sharif, Lahore, Peshawar, Mohamand Agency and Balochistan.
Security and intelligence officials told Business Recorder that the recent terror attacks were well coordinated from across the border in Afghanistan and necessary information in this regard has already been shared with Afghan government through the Foreign Office.
They also linked the recent wave of terror incidents with the alleged nexus of the US, Indian and Israeli agencies to target the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
However, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria, in his weekly media briefing, said that investigations in the Lahore attack were still underway and some arrests have been made. He said that the terror outfit namely Jamaat-ul-Ahrar which claimed responsibility for the attack is very much based in Afghanistan.
He said that India was involved in terrorism in the country and Pakistan has already submitted a dossier with the UN in this regard.
According to a report released in December 2016 by Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an independent think-tank, the country had witnessed 28 percent decline in the number of terror attacks last year.
Security analysts, while talking to Business Recorder, said that the sudden rise in terrorism after a significant decline over the last three years needs urgent mitigating measures.
Lt Gen Talat Masood (retd) stated that security situation in Afghanistan and lack of action against the sleepers' cells of terrorists in various parts of the country made them more active in carrying out attacks.
"We have not yet eliminated the sleepers' cells of terrorists. They are still there on the ground and have become more active and were always waiting for an opportunity", he said, adding that the government, intelligence agencies as well as security forces were not prepared as was required.
Lt Gen Talat Maood (retd) further stated that the government did not properly handle the security issues due to its focus on political issues like the Panama papers, adding that the terrorist have taken advantage of lack of interest of the government in security issues.
He pointed out that elimination of sleepers' cells of the terror outfits require constant and persistent action and monitoring of borders. He added that the government has not given due attention to implementation of National Action Plan (NAP), which was formulated to counter terrorism in the county.
"NAP is not being converted into a comprehensive plan as it was envisaged to be", he said, adding several areas of NAP are still not being implemented in spirit.
Mehmood Shah said that terrorists fled from South Waziristan and other tribal areas to Afghanistan following operation Zarb-e-Azb. Initially, they were disorganized but with the passage of time they have reorganised and got safe havens with the support of India through Afghan spy agency, NDS and tacit support from the US, he added.
He said that subsequent to reorganisation, a TTP faction, the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, based in Kunar province of Afghanistan, issued a video, threatening a nationwide campaign targeting civil and armed forces, judiciary, media and political parties.
"The terror group carried out recent attacks with the help of their sleepers' cells in Pakistan", he said adding that if the government had prepared an effective strategy to eliminate these sleepers cells after the successful military operation in tribal areas, recent incidents could have been averted.
"It was the responsibility of the government to take new initiatives to eradicate the sleepers cell of terrorists", he said, adding the government needs to make an effective strategy to stop movement of terrorists from across the border as well as eliminate their supporters and facilitators.
Mehmood Shah further stated that TTP splinter groups have joined forces with the sectarian terrorist outfit namely Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and South Punjab is the birth place of the LeJ. According to him the LeJ was the major facilitator of these terrorist organizations, which needs urgent focus of the government.