Security comes first
In the last ten days or so alone a good six terrorist attacks have killed close to fifty people. For far too long now appreciating Zarb-e-Azb has been the norm; at least in the mainstream press. And for good reason. The government was still dragging its feet, but the military put its foot down after the Karachi airport attack. And the army has indeed sacrificed men and material to take the fight to the enemy. Yet the proof of the pudding, eventually, lies in the eating. On that front it seems after going very well initially, the military operation is now encountering an increasing range of retaliation.
It does not, at this point, matter whether or not this degree of resistance should have been factored in long ago. What matters is the official response to increasing militancy, especially since sincere implementation of NAP would have further squeesed breathing, and operating, space for militants. But now that it is clear that NAP is going to remain a non-starter, the government should still – for the sake of its own credibility if not for the people’s security – at least take the necessary baby steps needed to win this existential war.
There is still no realisation, for example, that urban warfare is not the army’s cup of tea. And unfortunately the police is still in no shape to play any meaningful role in this endeavour. Reforms and capacity building – which have been promised since forever – are nowhere in the horizon. As a result, the police force has become one of the most inefficient, corrupt and incompetent anywhere in the world. The government must realise that without sharpening the right tools this job will never be complete. The direction and progress of a country at war is determined the state of its security, not its motorways and power plants. By that logic, there is again an urgent need to breathe fresh life into the war effort.
