Government is content that terrorist foot soldiers were killed in Karachi airport attack while no one is talking about apprehending the mastermind
Sometimes it feels that our whole nation is in a constant state of slumber. At each terror incident we are jolted from that slumber, we move our limbs violently for a few moments and then get back to it. I am always surprised by the reaction we express at these incidents. When politicians are nothing but glorified municipal council members more interested in their development budgets that they can use to recoup their election expenses and seek committee memberships to earn perks; when Generals are more interested in politics than soldiering as Reuters reported few weeks ago quoting an anonymous military source that the army chief would prefer to save the institution rather than the constitution; when media is more interested in getting the best shot for their eye balls even at the cost of jeopardising a counter offensive against a terrorist attack; when judges are indifferent towards delays and injustices in the judicial system to punish hardened criminals; when those responsible to seek advance knowledge of terror plots to prevent them from happening don’t feel the shame of failure in discharging their duties, then in these conditions terrorists and criminals roam free. God has informed us that the condition of a nation cannot change until they change themselves. We want the situation to improve without making any effort to improve ourselves in our attitude towards society and our social responsibility. This is not a sustainable condition and cannot go on forever. What are our options?
Our options are simple but difficult to implement as it requires character and will. The role of the parliament and elected government is to hold civil and military establishment responsible for delivery of services. They have to set policy direction and budget allocation based on their election promises. The government has failed to initiate a parliamentary oversight system so that subcommittees can call the intelligence and law enforcement officials to brief them about security threats and failures. The reports prepared by these subcommittees have to be shared with public so that they can judge those that are held accountable for these failures and corrective actions are taken to prevent future incidents. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan promised some months ago that a special federal force will be created to fight terrorists. This is not the first time that we are creating such a force. Some years ago the Sindh government created an Elite Commando police force but political hiring, lack of discipline and resources resulted in total failure of that experiment. It is fine to try one more time to create such a force but what is the guarantee that it will not become another avenue to provide jobs to members of the political party.
Immediately after the Karachi airport incident, senior law enforcement officers issued press statements that terrorists had sophisticated weapons of Indian origin. A day later we learnt that those terrorists were Uzbeks. This means that this was an incident of cross-border terrorism. This raises the question which intelligence agency is responsible to prevent these kinds of incidents and why the officials of this agency are not called by the government to show cause for their failure. Secondly, these terrorists travelled from North to South using domestic transportation but no one tracked them. Someone transported their weapons as well as provided boarding and lodging while they planned their attack. This kind of attack requires detailed planning, training and resources. This means that someone provided them financial support as well. Domestic intelligence and investigation of federal crime is the responsibility of Intelligence Bureau and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) respectively. Why government and parliament has not called these officials for questioning and find reasons for their failure? Why is it that not a single high official has lost their job despite repeated failures to prevent these terror incidents? It is the responsibility of the parliamentarians and elected government to hold them accountable. If they can’t do this then they are not suitable for elected offices.
No counter-terrorism intelligence operation can succeed unless and until there is a strong bond of trust and partnership between the agencies and people. People have to become eyes and ears for the agencies and provide information about suspicious activities in their neighbourhoods. Most of these terrorists have sympathisers among the civilian population who provide them intricate information about the area as well as offer them dwelling during the planning stage. Intelligence agencies need to improve their communication with the people through electronic and social media as well as set up a call centre to gather leads. Right now people are too scared to come forward with information as they feel they are mistreated and their identities could be revealed to the militants who could take revenge from them.
It is the role of the media to inform the nation about facts that state functionaries try to hide to protect their jobs. Our investigative journalists are too busy chasing the money looted by petty criminals rather than write detailed reports about intelligence and security failure. It is true that there are risks in pursuing that path but if we ask our soldiers and policemen to risk their lives then journalists have to come forward too.
Coercive power of the state has to be used against all those militant factions that claim responsibility for these terrorist acts. There is no way dialogue or peace negotiations can be held with these factions. On the other hand, militant groups that are willing to reconcile with the state should be given an opportunity to lay their arms and provided support to rehabilitate. We also have to find a political solution to FATA and most of the people from that region have expressed their desire to be given the status of a province. A parliamentary committee should be established to initiate preparatory work for an eventual political solution. A military operation without a viable political solution will only produce more grievances and recruits for the militants.
There is an international dynamic to the terrorism in Pakistan. It is important that government should organise a foreign minister level regional security conference in which all stakeholders have to be invited including Iran, Afghanistan, India, USA, China, Russia, EU, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. We need to inform India that in last five thousand years of South Asian history almost all invasions of India originated from Kabul. It is in their, as well as Pakistan’s, interest that situation in Afghanistan remains stable after the departure of ISAF forces. Pakistan has a strategic interest in Afghanistan as a neighbour and India has to recognise it for their own economic and social stability. It is important that a regional platform is developed that guarantees respect for sovereignty of each nation, economic development of the region in which everyone participates, and providing security guarantees to all members of the region. This is the only way this region can get out of over four decades of wars and turmoil and embark on stability and prosperity. It is our shared responsibility.
Sometimes complex problems have easy solutions. All it takes is to rise above the narrow self-interest and willingness to make sacrifices for the larger interest.