Litmus test

Our civil-military leadership is trying to get their act together to cope with the unprecedented security situation thrown up after the dastardly terrorist attack in Peshawar. Their cooperation however is marred by deep mistrust, which dates back to the early days of the country. It is sad that it took Pakistan 12 years and a loss of thousands of people to finally get to a reluctant national consensus against terrorism. Parliament, which is a symbol of national unity and the will of the people, seems to be totally irrelevant in these extremely critical times.
The judiciary, on the other hand, seems unperturbed by the new situation and is still functioning as normal. The release of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi – the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai terror attack – is an example of how our legal system is responding to the highly volatile security environment in the country. All eyes are now set on the civil-military leadership to prevent Pakistan from becoming ‘Talibanistan’.
Malik Atif Mahmood Majoka
Melbourne
Australia