On Thursday, terrorists attacked an army checkpost in South Waziristan killing eight soldiers. The same day, a bomb planted in Matni bazaar near Peshawar killed four innocent people. A day earlier, terrorists had ambushed a security forces patrol near Parachinar killing two troops. In a video released on Wednesday al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri praised OBL and urged Pakistanis to overthrow their political and military leadership. The terrorists are clear about their objectives and pursue them without any qualm of conscience. They are acting as a blood thirsty monster let loose, and neither the common man nor the security forces are safe from their attacks.
A section of politicians, mostly from the religious parties, continue to whitewash the monster. They explain away the horrendous attacks carried out by the terrorists as acts committed by Blackwater or its successor, the Xe Services. Others attribute the acts to Indian agents. A similar position is maintained by a section of the media. The common man thus gets confused about the identity of the real perpetrators of the acts of terrorism. The army is hesitant to go all out after the terrorists hoping that a section among them might be of help in Afghanistan after the foreign troops are pulled out. The PPP leadership wants to eliminate the terrorists but lacks the will to take the action required. Double-mindedness on the part of those who alone have the means to put the genie back into the bottle is promoting the perception of the ineffectiveness of the state and its coercive machinery.
A continuation of the state of indecision would be suicidal. There is a need to urgently go after the terrorist leadership in the tribal areas and to destroy their strongholds with the full force of the state. If the reports of most of them having taken shelter in North Waziristan are correct, this should provide a God-sent opportunity to the army to get rid of them in one blow. Once the terrorists are finished in their tribal strongholds, it would be easier to stamp out the remnants in the rest of the country.