Time to take stock
The killing of four FC soldiers in Quetta on Wednesday would have called for a reevaluation of the Operation even if it were an isolated incident. But it was not. Just a day earlier four policemen were killed in the same city in two different attacks. Each time the security apparatus – from law enforcement representatives on the ground all the way up to the army chief and prime minister’s office – came out with the same, machine-like response: This is an attempt to sabotage the peace; and it will never succeed. Of course, just a few days earlier Amjad Sabri’s horrible murder and the kidnapping of the Sindh CJ’s son raised even more questions; all of them troubling.
That is not to say, of course, that the Operation has been off the mark. There can be no denying that it has been successful every step of the way so far. It has long since decimated the enemy’s command and control structure in the tribal area. And it has brought down terrorist attacks, quite significantly, across the country. Yet it is also true that the Operation is still far from coming full circle. And, as the tragic incidents mentioned earlier prove, a lot still needs to be done.
It seems relevant authorities are beginning to feel the pinch of not paying adequate attention to NAP and NACTA at the right time. And the muscle of the initial Operation gave way to intel-based and combing operations in urban centres, the civilian administration’s paralysis with regard to the action plan became increasingly evident. That means that Ch Nisar’s ministry must finally pull its socks up lest more of the Operation’s momentum is lost. Quetta is not a big city, and the security establishment is present there in large numbers, yet it remains a centre of trouble because issues like integrating the dozens of security agencies, etc, have still not been taken care of. Unless there is visible progress on NACTA and NAP, not only will there be more attacks, but plans like CPEC will also come under increasing danger.
