The “deafening silence” that was exhibited at the beheading of seven Pakistani soldiers by the Taliban is surely not a new phenomenon in the Pakistani context where the entire state machinery seems to be moving in small circles without any prospect of reaching either a decision or any conclusion. Our wrong policies with respect to this militant have aided their entrenchment within our society. Moreover, power struggles between different power centres in our country has also obfuscated the policy making on the issue of counter-terrorism.
The beheading of kidnapped soldiers by the TTP and the proclamation to display the severed heads is something that the government ought to have taken as a blatant challenge for itself. The internal fissures in our polity seem to have overshadowed what ought to have been our main objectives: to secure the country from the menace of militancy.
At this precise juncture in time, where the endgame draws near, and when Pakistan has put everything at stake in this long war, it is amazing to see the leadership focussing on other petty issues. The establishment’s inability to normalise relations with the US may prove absolutely counterproductive and may serve to undermine all the efforts against the militants.
LUBNA UMAR
Islamabad
