Rising terror

Pakistan has encountered year after year of militancy and terrorism, notably from 2001 onwards. The militancy had appeared to be on the wane for some years, but is now surging once again – with Balochistan facing terror attacks in the Noshki and Panjgur districts in which seven security personnel lost their lives. While around 13 attackers were killed by security forces during the attack, the cleanup operation continued into Friday evening with security forces targeting a terrorist hideout in Kech and killing three militants. Pakistan has accused elements based in Afghanistan and India of the attacks, with ISPR saying that intelligence agencies had intercepted communications between terrorists and their handlers in Afghanistan and India. This is an extremely disturbing turn of events. Though terrorism is not a new phenomenon in Pakistan, the way the insurgents used explosive-laden vehicles to attack the gates of FC camps is unprecedented. The situation is alarming as just last month 10 soldiers had lost their lives in Kech when militants targeted a security post. This increase in the number of attacks and resulting violence has made the situation much deadlier than it was at any time in the recent past.

Not unrelated is terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa perpetrated by the TTP, which the government says has become active to the point of having begun extortions in Peshawar. While the TTP has stepped up attacks in the country, notably since the Afghan Taliban seized power in the middle of last year, Baloch separatist groups are also on the rise. There is some speculation that despite their divergence in ideology, the two may have formed a nexus and that IS may be assisting them in some fashion. It is difficult to determine what the truth is. Pakistan’s official position for long has remained unchanged: that India has been using Afghan soil against Pakistan. This brings up the question of the Afghan Taliban, whose ascent to power had not only been accepted but celebrated by the PTI government. If the new Taliban government is good for Pakistan, then some tough questions need to be asked regarding what the Afghan Taliban have done to dismantle anti-Pakistan forces on their soil. The recent visit by the national security adviser of Pakistan to Kabul had triggered some hope but it seems to have had little impact.

Clearly, despite our successes in the war on militancy, there is still a lot of work to be done. These recent attacks should serve as a grim reminder that many of the promises made in the National Action Plan are yet to be fulfilled. Pakistan has to tackle this problem for the sake of its people and for the sake of security within its borders – and the government has been found wanting in this regard. We need to redirect our priorities, consider what happened to the National Action Plan and determine why the National Counter Terrorism Authority has not been able to function the way it was meant to. Militancy is a threat so potent that the only way to defeat it is by presenting a united front. Nacta needs to become that united front.