So much for ‘never again’
The Bacha Khan University monstrosity, just like so many TTP attacks before it, is in danger of being quickly forgotten without the right lessons being drawn. The magnitude of the APS tragedy and its impact on the people made everybody take the government’s, and military’s, promise of ‘never again’ at face value. Now that everybody understood the depths the enemy could descend to, our children would never again be allowed to come in harm’s way at their schools and colleges. Yet it happened again. And the usual wave of sympathy notwithstanding officials have once again, more or less, given us just the ‘never again’ pledge.
It cannot be denied that blowback was natural and expected in the wake of Zarb-e-Azb. And, whatever the detractors say, it has not been nearly as savage as initially anticipated. Yet the Charsadda attack cannot realistically be placed in the category of unavoidable incidents. It was, rather, the result of the government’s paralysis on the most important points of the National Action Plan (NAP). Operations like these take long planning and logistical work. It is mostly in the preparatory phase that intelligence agencies pick up ‘chatter’, which is passed onto LEAs for pre-emption operations on the ground. If only our agencies had integrated and shared intelligence, as NAP mandated, perhaps this attack would be ruled out, especially since talk of just such a hit was doing the rounds in KP for days.
And that is not all. There is still no movement on hordes of militant and sectarian outfits that litter urban areas; and there isn’t a hint of any either. In light of these facts, it seems the government still does not appreciate the enormity of the present situation. This war is of an existential nature. And however much Zarb-e-Azb is successful in degrading the tribal base, much more will have to be done, and the government not the military will have to take the lead. Unless the government gathers the will for this war, Bacha Khan will be just one of more attacks, unfortunately.
