Blatant disregard of Pakistan’s sovereignty has now become the norm. Be it from our so-called ally, the USA, or be it from the widely dispersed anti-Pakistan elements that are commonly referred to as terrorists. This disregard has reached its climax as is evident from the unilateral US mission conducted in Abbottabad and drone strikes that continue despite the unanimous parliamentary resolution. The recent attacks on Naval transportation buses followed by a well-planned and well-coordinated attack by trained terrorists on the Naval Aviation Base containing Orion aircrafts conveniently claimed by TTP is also a link of that chain.
The authorities have not been able to justify the security lapses that have occurred not only previously at the GHQ but at the Naval Base as well. According to the Interior Minister there were four terrorist that have been killed but taking sixteen hours to control the situation does raise serious questions that the relevant authorities must answer.
The dilemma will continue to deepen unless Pakistani government adopts clarity in its foreign policy namely de-linking from the war on terror, by discontinuing logistical support to ISAF and putting an end to drone strikes which will hence put an end to the justification that recruiters of suicide bombers give to convince them for carrying out suicide bombings that Pakistan is in fact abetting the US occupation of Afghanistan. We also need to fix the civil-military imbalance that exists in the current setup and strengthen not only civil institutions but military institutions as well by subjecting them to appropriate accountability mechanisms. A paradigm shift is the need of the hour.
SHAJEEH NIAZ
Rawalpindi
