Terrorism: Take the fight to the enemy

The explosion in Johar Town in Lahore has left Indian footprints. This is not the last incident for which India is blamed.

Dehli is deeply involved in terrorism in Balochistan. Security forces in the province have been attacked five times in the last few days. There have not been many casualties luckily. In Ketch, Balochistan, 13 people were killed last year in a major attack on our soldiers.

Still, these incidents show the importance of looking at the bigger picture of terrorism. We must also consider the kinetics of the problem. There is a great deal of confusion in the government. Many in the federal government still believe that the terrorists are "Naraz Balochs" and that the TTP should be talked to. However, there is an implicit admission of guilt as the leader of the ethnic nationalists, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, the BNP (M) president, has been tasked with finding the missing accused. He has blamed the government and local authorities for the alleged misconduct, i.e., the disappearance of the suspected militants.

It is a wishful thinking and naiveté on the part of our leadership to believe that you can entice or force terrorists and their sponsors to engage in meaningful dialogue. They have become increasingly dependent on the terrorism industry after it became extremely lucrative.

In the absence of a solution, the ones left behind will be your enemies, and you must deal with them accordingly. However, those who wanted or were open to dialogue have already seized the opportunity.

The more we focus on dialogue, the more we confuse people, sending a weak message to those who support the state. Dialogue also signals weakness to those who oppose it. Because they will always wonder if one day the terrorists will be proved right at the expense of those who side with Pakistan.

In practical terms, who should we speak with? What is the point of treading the same path over and over again? Were not the recent TTP negotiations a disaster? Besides, defeating them with all our might and decimating them is the only way to succeed.

When the government says it is seeking dialogue, it also does not understand the mindset of those who have capital to invest. When we talk about a shift from geopolitics to geoeconomics, we have not been serious enough about creating the foundations and conditions for that. Investors do not want to invest in a country that is not seen as tough on terrorists. They will not take Pakistan seriously.

Balochistan is not a safe haven for terrorists who have regional hideouts. Afghanistan is a known safe forward base. Even though the Taliban government is expected to crack down on ethnic and terrorist groups, terrorists still operate out of Afghanistan. A Middle Eastern state has extradited a prominent individual. But, there are other terrorists there linked to BRAS (Baloch Raji Ajoi Sangar), a conglomerate of militant groups). If they are still at large, they must be tracked down and extradited. Pakistan and the UAE are working closely together in the fight against terrorism.

Pakistan is a regional power and cannot be considered weak. The problem could be much wider than Balochistan's borders. Iran also has many terrorists who have safe havens, especially those protected and supported by Indian funds. It is surprising that the government has not substantively engaged Tehran as yet. The Pakistan-Iran border will be fenced, as the army leadership has repeatedly stressed. Work on it is still underway. Most security incidents occur along the Iran-Pakistan border, suggesting that the Iranian establishment may have its fingers in the pie. We need to put out a clear message.

Indian involvement in Balochistan is well known, apart from the extension of RAW's footprint to Lahore. It is time to bring the issue of Jadhav and Indian terrorism back to the fore. Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested in Balochistan where he was running a network from Chabahar Port.

Those who are unable to control their territory and exercise their power are seen as weak by world powers. Russian President Putin and Chinese President Xi would consider us a weak state in any scenario if we did not eradicate the scourge of terrorism on our borders, especially in Balochistan which is rich in natural resources.

Our government should play a dual role: armored vehicles and rapid air support, such as attack helicopters, to provide more robust tactical support. The use of armed drones and MRAP operations in this terrain would benefit our soldiers on the battlefield. Moreover, it should only send one message: We will fight these elements wherever they are.

In other words, the only option we have is a war of attrition in which these enemies of the state are decimated. Otherwise, transition to "geoeconomics" will not succeed. India has once again turned its attention to Balochistan to counter Pakistan's fate-changing project: Construction and operation of Reko Diq.

Make no mistake: Reko Diq's investment of about $9 billion is no small feat. Pakistan's energy deficit can only be met by exploiting Balochistan's natural resources. Only if we are able to secure the sites and the supply chain will we be able to achieve this.

Jan Achakzai is a geopolitical analyst, a Balochistan politician and a former media and strategic communications advisor to GOB. He tweets @jan_Achakzai