IN the last few weeks, there has been a new wave of terrorism in the country, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Once again, terrorists have organized and started targeting security institutions and officials. In the recent incidents of terrorism in North and South Waziristan and Bajaur, seven people including security personnel were martyred and five were injured in consecutive four bomb blasts. Whilst responsively, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar says that the war will continue until the end of terrorism in the country.
Terrorist acts against Pakistan are not anew, nor have the security agencies been oblivious to them. Terrorists pronounce the Pakistan Army as the biggest obstacle in the way of attacking the security of Pakistan, so they are manoeuvring for opportunities to attack such an institution. Around 100,000 citizens including security personnel have been martyred in terrorist activities and billions of dollars have been lost to the economy separately via facilitation. The sacrifices of security agencies for the country’s survival are unforgettable and they are sending a message that they are ready at every moment to ensure peace and order in the country.
Pakistan defence forces have always been determined against terrorism, but it is necessary to include the politicians and the people in this determination. The menace of terrorism will be rooted out if the public and political circles must also support the defence forces and give proof of national unity, thus politicians should not pull each other’s legs and try to occupy the power early, lest time does not help and the situation becomes so serious that nobody gets anything and everyone ends up empty-handed.
This is not the time for confrontation, nor is it time to insult each other, this is the time for discernment to support Pak forces against terrorism, expressing unity to fight terrorism together. A National Action Plan (NAP) was made for the elimination of terrorism, in which the block of facilitators was also fully managed, but this Plan could not be fully implemented, nor could the facilitation be blocked. It is the result of not fully implementing the NAP that terrorism has again to rise in the country.
India has often been behind terrorism in Pakistan but we have to overcome our weaknesses and have to stop the reaction of the return of illegal immigrants. Along with this, facilitation within the country and across the borders has to be addressed, but how will all this be done? It has been explained in the NAP, if there is a need for further improvement and reform in the Plan, it should be done without delay. By ending the curse of terrorism, peace and order can be established throughout the country.
As long as there is no end to terrorism in Pakistan or as long as there is political and economic instability in the country and the politics of confrontation and revenge continues, the dream of development, prosperity and peace in the country will remain unfulfilled. Therefore, it is necessary to move forward through mutual cooperation, put aside internal differences, take decisions in the national interest and create a policy with consensus.
The scope of this policy must be broad, so that if the stray elements come back to join the mainstream, there is room for them too. But those who are armed against the state and the people, who are willing and facilitating terrorism, must be brought to justice in any case, that is why the war will continue until the end of terrorists and terrorism.
—The writer is a regular columnist, based in Lahore.
Email: attiabutt121@gmail.com
views expressed are writer’s own.
