The suicide attack in Karachi on two navy buses killing four and injuring 36, should act as an eye-opener. It is yet another instance in the series of attacks on military personnel that have been conducted by terrorist organisations inside tribal areas, major cities of Pakistan and AJK. The number of servicemen, including several senior officers, who have died in the attacks, is already in four figures. The attack in Karachi on military personnel has come after a prolonged lull. In 2002, terrorists failed to kill Musharraf in Karachi because the detonator used in the explosive-laden car failed to function. Those subsequently sentenced were found to be members of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen Al-alami. In 2004, six Pakistan Army soldiers, three policemen and a bystander were killed when Karachi corps commander’s motorcade was ambushed near Clifton Bridge. Those accused belonged to Jundullah which later gained notoriety for attacks inside Iran.
While loose connections between the terrorist organisations have always existed, there are reports now of these having been formalised in North Waziristan through the formation of a joint command. North Waziristan which has the distinction of being the only agency in Fata where no military operation has been conducted and it is considered a safe haven by these groups. They can set up a safe command center here and use the area as a staging post. Their sharing of resources provides them with global reach. What is more, by joining hands these groups are capable of releasing a synergy that could be devastating.
The attack on the navy personnel once again indicates that the terrorist are targeting the state of Pakistan. The Al-Qaeda known for providing ideological guidance to these groups considers nation states as un-Islamic entities which need to be disbanded and replaced by a world caliphate. It matters little to these terrorist groups what becomes of Pakistan in the mad pursuit of their dangerous goals. The tendency in Pakistan to pay total attention to India as the major enemy amounts to ignoring the elephant in the room. In case the terrorist center in North Waziristan is not urgently destroyed, Pakistan will hardly need a hostile country to attempt to destroy it. As things stand, the enemy within needs to be treated as the main threat to Pakistan’s integrity.