The Phantom Operation

Pakistan is a unique nation that refuses to defend itself and fight against its own annihilation

Another attack on Pakistan. Another terror nightmare inflicted on the nation — this time at the gateway airport of the country. Another nail in the coffin of this failed or failing state.

Like umpteenth times before, in the face of thousands of such terror attacks owned by Taliban, the cowardly surrender behind the faded and fake response is the same: We don’t know who did it (perhaps they were the Eskimos from Mars!); they cannot be Muslims (no kidding, no Muslim has ever committed any crime in the history of the world!); it’s not our own war (only true if we say it’s not our own country), etc.

Once again, the overarching question is where’s the “Operation”? Yes, the same, almighty, ultimate, offensive operation in Waziristan that our army was supposed to carry out to wipe out all the Taliban. But this Holy Grail of Pakistan’s fight against jihadi terror is nowhere to be found, although like mythical Loch Ness Monster some have claimed its occasional sightings.

There’s no question that in this blood-laced saga of Taliban/jihadi terror war against the state and people of Pakistan, we missed some excellent opportunities based on our fatal misassumptions. Firstly, about a couple of years back when the strength of American troops in Afghanistan was at its peak, we incredulously declined to accept the American offer of a joint, coordinated offensive to finish off the remnants of Taliban sanctuaries in Waziristan.

Secondly, the people and the government of our country, spearheaded by Imran Khan, left no stone unturned in protesting and pressuring the US to cease its successful drone attacks against the command and control centres of Taliban. The time is fast approaching when we will rue the day the drones, the most effective and lethal weapon against this cunning and elusive enemy, stopped flying in FATA.

The religion-obsessed, paranoid, supremacist mindset of the people and political and other leaders has prevented them from seeing the ugly, monstrous reality the Taliban threat is: the unwavering, relentless greed of this enemy to seek fascist, totalitarian control over not only the state of Pakistan but also over the lives of its people.

Thirdly, the inexplicable decision of Nawaz Sharif and his government for the Army to abruptly halt its January offensive that started on such a promising note, has seriously blunted any offensive against the enemy and will have the undesirable result of prolonging this struggle against terrorism and extending the nation’s misery.

In the art of tactical warfare, the timing and the element of surprise are critical. Government’s obstruction robbed our forces of this tactical advantage. The delay in operation, assuming its now launched, has given sufficient time to the enemy to regroup and prepare in anticipation of the offensive. Many of the Taliban fighters have now dispersed in the mountains and melted in Afghanistan countryside.

The fatal delusions on the part of the people and the politicians and the grave misassumptions on the part of our military have transformed our country into a weak, pathetic, terror-stricken, violence-prone nation.

The religion-obsessed, paranoid, supremacist mindset of the people and political and other leaders has prevented them from seeing the ugly, monstrous reality the Taliban threat is: the unwavering, relentless greed of this enemy to seek fascist, totalitarian control over not only the state of Pakistan but also over the lives of its people.

Army’s assumptions about the Taliban have also been wrong or hopelessly inadequate. Initially, its top brass woefully underestimated this enemy, cosy in the belief that, whenever required, it would be able to manipulate the Taliban to fit its strategic purposes in Afghanistan. Also, its pride in its capabilities got in the way of seeking ISAF’s and Afghanistan forces’ help in fighting the Taliban. Whether our Army was correct in its assessment that it could do it alone, we will soon find out.

Even now, after the Karachi airport attack, the Army fails to launch the much vaunted ‘operation’, it might as well be the beginning of end of the Pakistani state as we know it.

As the exponential rise of terrorism in Pakistan indicates, rapidly and inexorably Pakistan is going down in the annals of history as a unique nation that refuses to defend itself and fight against its own annihilation.