Time to take serious action
Among the plethora of problems engulfing the country, it is the security front, internal security to be precise, that requires immediate attention of the state machinery. Terrorists seem to strike at every point of the security net they find a lack of vigilance on. Their mantra is simple: terrorise the public and weaken the state to implement their contorted agenda. Realistically speaking, this does seem to work in their favour.
Two blasts, one a car bomb and the other a suicide attack, on the security forces in Quetta are just another reminder of how precarious our security situation has become. No other than the deputy chief of the Frontier Corps was targeted in an attack that the Taliban have claimed to be in reaction to the arrest of Younis-al-Mauritani, a key Al-Qaeda operative from the outskirts of the provincial capital.
Balochistan has particularly become a hotbed for terrorism activities. Persecution of the Baloch youth by successive military regimes has yielded some hypernationalist groups. Ethnic strife has turned it into a xenophobic hellhole where anybody not belonging to the region is not welcome at all. Quetta Shura – the executive council of the Taliban – is also believed to be based in the city. Provincial administration, LEAs and security agencies lack a concerted effort to take back the space they have ceded to the terrorists and separatist elements.
But that’s only one side of the story. Every once in a while, our security apparatus shakes down its lethargic attitude and shows us what it is capable of. Al-MAuritani’s arrest along with two other key operatives is indicative of how grave the situation is. What the state needs to focus on is the security situation in the country’s largest province. Enhanced cooperation among the intelligence community could be crucial in this regard. Now is not the time to rest. It is time to strike at the divisive, terror policies of the non-state elements with a collective will to cleanse the area of the terrorist malaise.
