No country for terrorists
The terrorist attack in Paris killing at least 129 people has shaken the entire world. It is being widely realised that indignation and outrage are not enough. The attack has proved that the US and its allies’ policy of “controlling and containing the threat” instead of eradicating it has failed to provide security against the terrorist menace. A consensus is emerging that the IS which has owned the attack cannot be allowed any longer to control territory on which it is able to organise, finance, direct and plan their attacks. What happened in Paris has important lessons for Pakistan also.
While Pakistan Army has driven the terrorists out of their sanctuaries, their sleeper cells continue to be active in the cities resulting in attacks on minorities and law enforcement personnel. During the last 11 months at least 80 policemen have been killed in Karachi alone. Meanwhile, extremist elements and banned networks are hurling threats to sabotage the National Action Plan. The situation requires complete coordination between the civilian government and the army. Any perception of one edging out the other of its constitutionally defined turf will create disharmony and provide an opportunity to the terrorist networks to launch murderous attacks.
Pakistani Taliban have set up command and control systems and recruiting and training facilities across the border in Afghanistan. Individuals owing allegiance to IS are also active in Nangarhar, the Afghan province neighbouring Pakistan. Making use of insider support these networks can launch another APS style terrorist attack. Any barbarous attack of similar intensity would badly shake the people’s confidence in the establishment. Pakistan urgently needs to improve relations with Afghanistan to jointly eliminate the terrorists. By nurturing the armed groups like Al Nusra Front to overthrow the government in Syria, the US and Europe created their own nemesis in the form of IS. Learning a lesson from this, Pakistan needs to take decisive action against all extremist organisations which indulge in violence or have the capacity to do so in pursuit of their aims.