The working of the agencies needs to be improved
The operation against the terrorists was delayed for months after the formation of the PML-N government. For quite some time the party leadership was unwilling to name the terrorist organisations even when they owned the gruesome acts they had committed. The TTP was in fact duly certified as a body comprising patriotic though ‘misled’ individuals. The opposition parties who attended the APC convened by the PML-N were persuaded to support talks with Hakimullah Mehsud despite the man having firmly stated that he would not agree to anything short of the world Islamic Khilafat which was then the goal of Al Qaeda and is currently that of the ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Pakistan had to pay heavily for the shortsighted policy of appeasement.
While the terrorist threat has been largely contained, though by no means eliminated, by the military operation, important issues still remain unaddressed. There is an unrealistic perception that military courts would somehow put an end to the phenomenon of terrorism. The highly motivated killers who commit suicide acts, as well as their handlers, do not fear death which they consider a way to salvation and paradise.
The most successful way discovered so far to defeat terrorism is through a developed intelligence network. As things stand this happens to be the country’s Achilles heel. Despite Pakistan having over twenty intelligence agencies their performance is highly unsatisfactory. Over decades they have been trained to keep a tab on political opponents rather than the terrorists. What is more, despite whatever efforts were made to cleanse these agencies of the terrorists’ sympathisers after 9/11, there are still complaints about rogue elements’ presence in the agencies. The agencies need to be purged. There has to be better sharing of intelligence between them. Again, the actionable intelligence has to be shared in real time with quick response teams of LEAs. After the threat extended by Mullah Fazlullah, it is all the more important to improve the working of the agencies.