State of security

The six man siege at the PNS Mehran has finally ended while there are other reports of what are liable to be referred to as ‘minor’ incidents of terrorism and lawlessness in a country increasingly becoming inured to gory incidents of terrorism. Terrorists blew up a motorway bridge in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa injuring a man while the sectarian clashes in Kurrum entered the fourth day adding five more to the tally of 15 dead over the last few days.

As the dust settled at PNS Mehran, it became clear that there were no more than six terrorists who kept the entire base in a tizzy for sixteen hours. They had managed to enter one of the country’s most heavily guarded bases using simple ladders and wire cutters. Besides killing between 10 to 13 navy and FC personnel, the terrorists destroyed two P-3C Orion aircrafts recently acquired from the US at the cost $36million each. Finally, two of the terrorists reportedly managed to escape while four were killed by the military commandos. Highly divergent conclusions have been drawn from the incident. CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry has said the attack is indicative of the government’s failure to bring law and order under control. A complacent Chief of Naval Staff however denies there has been any security breach. His solution: construct a new, more secure base. In other words, forget the past and make a fresh start. How much this will cost the exchequer does not seem to bother the CNS.

Meanwhile, the incident has exacerbated the already prevailing sense of insecurity among the general public. If those considered to be the ultimate security providers are unable to ward off terrorist attacks on their major installations, the common man is bound to feel helpless. The destruction of highly sophisticated and costly aircraft has led to worries about the security of other vital national assets. The summoning of the DCC by the Prime Minister would hardly allay these concerns. Institutions lacking independent oversight are likely to develop vulnerabilities. What is needed is the formation of bipartisan parliamentary committees on intelligence and security to regularly hold hearings by summoning the top brass on matters of vital concern. Independent oversight of the type is all the more necessary for a country possessing nuclear weapons.