North Waziristan Agency (NWA) has turned into the nerve centre of the various terrorist groups affiliated with the TTP and Al-Qaeda. Major extremist leaders including Hakimullah Mehsud, Ilyas Kashmiri and Qari Hussain have set up their command and control centers and training camps in the Agency. It is here that plans for deadly attacks inside Pakistan are made. Former Taliban associates Col (retd) Imam and Khalid Khwaja were lured to the Agency to be executed for their alleged betrayal of the terrorists’ cause. The Haqqani group which is accused by the US of organising cross border attacks inside Afghanistan also operates from the Agency. The activity cannot be allowed by any responsible state. Even if there was no foreign pressure to cleanse the area of terrorist groups, there was enough domestic compulsion to do so.
Terrorist attacks are on the rise and have created a deep sense of insecurity among the population. The economy has declined on account of the deterioration in law and order and investors are not willing to risk their money in the country. The terrorists are becoming increasingly aggressive and are targeting major security installations. On May 22, they destroyed Pakistan navy’s vital security assets at PNS Mehran, thus serving as enemy agents. There are genuine reasons to fear that they might try to get hold of f the country’s nuclear assets.
There is a need under the circumstances to destroy the terrorist strongholds in NWA from where most of the destructive activity is planned and directed. The operation needs to be handled with extreme care. It has to be based on real time intelligence and carefully targeted. Unless the strikes are conducted with surgical accuracy, these would evoke strong opposition as in the case of drone attacks. The air attacks will have to be followed by army action needed to flush out the militants and secure the areas. A plan has to be in place for handing over the control of the area to the political officials at the earliest.
