Pakistan: Military action is the only answer

Give without saying in so many words the government seems to have decided to go in for an all-out offensive against terrorist outfits across the country, hopefully once for all taking off the table the option of ill-conceived peace talks with their leadership. It was long due, as inordinate delay in that has brought home the fallacy of suing peace with blood-addicted marauders. If at all there was any chance of peace dialogue succeeding that is over, aptly reflected from the audacity and brashness with which the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility of the attack on Karachi airport and its associate Jaishul Islam proudly announced killing of over two dozen Shia pilgrims. Even when the generally pro-peace dialogue Sharif government and interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali are still a bit inhibited in admitting the grim reality of overarching terrorism threat confronting Pakistan - maybe the minister thought it prudent to avoid saying country is in war which invites Proclamation of Emergency under the constitution, and instead told parliament 'we are in a war zone'. But he did concede the gravity of the terrorism threat by telling parliament 'Nobody should be in doubt that there will necessarily be a reaction to the action'. And that reaction was there without any loss of time when PAF jets took out some nine terrorist hideouts and killed 25 suspected militants in the Tirah Valley. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) directorate claimed the bombing was 'in retaliation to Sunday's deadly attack on the Karachi airport' - an expression more in context of a 'targeted action' than a final move against the terrorist outfits and their scheming dens. The ambivalence so much abounding in an expression like 'we are in a war zone' instead of 'state of war' betrays a kind of admitting the fact that the obtaining threat to national security aptly fits the circumstances that merit proclamation of emergency. The truth is that normal channels had failed to deal with attackers at the airport complex and complete absence of security forces to protect a conspicuously obvious target of terrorists the 300 Shia pilgrims at Taftan airstrip were, a failure accentuated by collapse of contact link between the federal and provincial authorities at the highest level. We don't know if the Cabinet Committee on National Committee in its meeting following the Karachi airport saga could shun ambivalence on the need for a final action against terrorist outfits - the press release issued following the meeting evades clarity. But we do hope the unsourced reports saying the military's position for stern action against militants was unanimously adopted by the CCNC.

Time for a final action against terrorist outfits has come; it brooks no deferment howsoever appealing be the alternatives, both real and fictional. An earlier opportunity for an effective action to root out this curse was last thanks to the so-called Taliban's peace messengers when conditions were quite favourable. Something like that opportunity seems to have come again in the wake of split along tribal and regional differences besetting the TTP alliance in the wake of Saeed Khan aka Sajna group's revolt against its chief Mulla Fazlullah. If they are also divided along ideological Deobandi versus Punjpiri schools of thought that may be yet another cause of intra-TTP rifts. Also with powerful commanders in southern tribal areas like Hafiz Gul Bahadar, Haji Sher Mohammad and Mullah Nazir being amenable to regional military command's overture for peaceful coexistence the time may be opportune to strike at the TTP, which is increasingly being confined to north in Bajaur, Mohmand and Swat areas. There is no reason for the military operations not to succeed in these areas, especially now that local populations appear to be showing signs of joining the fights against terrorists, of which quite a big chunk are foreigners having their own particular agendas. But where weakness is quite palpable is the government's lingering inability to fight terrorists on the psychological warfare front. Take the case of second attack on the Karachi airport. There was hardly a reason to believe that it could have caused a serious damage, but it did. Not only the TTP promptly claimed responsibility and promised more of the same it made people believe that even if 10 terrorists were killed all is not well at the country's most important airport. Consequently, the security at the airport has become suspect in the eyes of foreign airlines with one Cathay Pacific announcing cancellation of its Karachi operation. This is all what the TTP wants to do as a guerrilla outfit. So when military is ready to take on and defeat the terrorist forces the civil counterparts too should stand up to the challenge, close its ranks, evolve unanimity of thought and action and banish the idea from their mind if any that the Taliban and their genre are a political or national asset. They are out to destroy Pakistan and must be defeated whatever it takes.