Pakistan: Military operation is needed

THE pattern is now clearer than ever: a significant attack against the military will prompt a deadly response against the banned TTP. That the military attempted to take out Adnan Rasheed, a terror kingpin, but missed can be cut two ways. One perspective would be that it underlines the military’s willingness to go after big targets and that the military is straining at the civilian leash to get the job done. The other perspective would be that in targeting and missing Adnan Rasheed — reportedly a nearby house was hit — the military has unwittingly highlighted the paucity of good intelligence and battlefield restraint. While there could be some truth in both perspectives, it still leaves unaddressed the fundamental question: what is the strategy? Retaliatory attacks are certainly not strategy.

To take on the militant threat that emanates from North Waziristan, it is reasonably clear what needs to be done — because it has been done before: a full-scale military operation that is properly planned and executed. With one caveat, however: this time the leadership of the groups that are targeted should not be allowed to melt away and return to haunt the country, as has happened in a number of other military operations that have been launched in the past. However, the military cannot — indeed, should not — be allowed to determine policy against militancy on its own. That is the job of the political government, which means clear directions and policy from the elected representatives. But with dialogue still seemingly the preferred option, there is little clarity or coherent policy from the government’s side as yet. The deferred internal security policy could yet shape into a meaningful document, but that will only be known once its full contours are revealed and agreed to by the federal and provincial stakeholders.

In the meantime, consider how true seriousness of purpose and coherence work. Unhappily, the examples continue to come from the wrong side — the TTP itself. As a report in this paper yesterday indicated, the TTP is clear about its goals and is looking ahead to taking advantage of the regional situation to achieve those goals. The TTP’s hopes for a Taliban comeback in Afghanistan, after the drawdown of foreign troops, syncing with a resurgent TTP in Pakistan and setting the stage for a global caliphate may be a flight of fantasy — but it is a dangerous one, and a fantasy that can inflict devastating harm on Pakistan. To defeat an enemy with ambitions on that scale and a proven capability to not just survive but thrive, the Pakistani state will truly have to get its act together and present a united front.