Mixed report card on the war on terror

A combination of good and bad news

What are we to make of our success, or lack thereof, in the war on terror? In the wake of the Quetta carnage, this is the question that we are all asking, as we tend to do every couple of months or so. In some aspects, I believe things are surely looking up; in others, not so. The government therefore gets a mixed report card. Let’s see why.

When Prime Minister Sharif concluded, six months ago, that we were winning the war against the terrorists, his argument was impeccable. Since they were attacking soft targets (the PM reasoned), the terrorists must have lost the ability to strike at the strategic ones. The nation was naturally elated to hear this. By this logic, the Quetta blast proves that we are still winning the war hands down, which is great news. However, we must dial down our satisfaction a notch, for a simple calculation tells me that at this rate it will be a very long time before the last terrorist or the last soft target is eliminated.

We keep hearing about the civilian and the military leadership being on the same page, as shown most recently on the consensus on CPEC as the real target of the Quetta blast. This is great news. What’s not such great news is the suspicion that many of us are occasionally forced to entertain, namely, the copies the two leaderships are referring to may not always be of the same book.

Again looking at the credit side of the ledger, there is no dearth of hectic activity. All sorts of high-level meetings are taking place in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. You will probably soon watch an address to the nation, see a joint session of parliament, and an all-parties’ conference – our usual panacea. Also expect an inquiry commission with strict instructions to urgently submit its report. You may even see new legislation. The bad news, however, is that nobody takes these things seriously. For example, not many people deem the parliament, its members, its sessions, and all the impressive oratory on display worthy of respect one would associate with a country’s sovereign legislative body.

After the Quetta blast, two mature reactions on the part of the leadership stand out as especially encouraging. One: involvement of foreign hand is not being ruled out; and two: we are not jumping to conclusions regarding which foreign country it may be. The bad news is that the two reactions are being displayed, in a mutually exclusive fashion, by distinctly disparate quarters.

There are other positives too. Sharif is a third time PM with a wealth of experience at the top. He has an unassailable majority at the center, and enjoys committed support from the province that matters most. He has called for an in-sync intelligence strategy, and has shown a consistent resolve to take the war to its logical end. The PM also continuously urges the security forces to quash terrorism with full force. The bad news is that it is not at all clear whether the buck stops at his desk. And if it doesn’t, all this urging may not amount to much.

On another positive note, we are told (and who are we to dispute it) that we are blessed with the best intelligence agencies and security apparatus in the world. Of course we take great pride in this. The bad news, however, is that in their adversaries these agencies have probably found their match in professionalism, albeit in an evil cause.

In a refreshing display of awareness on its part, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry has called upon the government to implement the National Action Plan in letter and spirit. As if on cue, special combing operations were ordered only twenty-two hours after the Quetta blast. As it turned out unfortunately, the operations proved to be about twenty-two hours too late.

Interior Minister Nisar believes we are winning the war on ground, while only loosing it on the social media. The PM is of the opinion that the terrorists are on the run. That President Mamnoon Hussain echoes this sentiment puts the seal of certainty on the gratifying piece of information. The bad news, however, is that the terrorists – suicide jackets on, fingers on detonators – are only running towards crowds of people to blow them up.

The PM is fond of saying that martyrs’ blood will not go in vain; which is good to hear. The bad news is that he is probably thinking of the Hereafter when he says this. As far as this temporary existence is concerned, the martyrs’ survivors, and random citizens to a lesser extent, are probably in for a long nightmare.