WHILST the people were satisfied over the overall improvement in law and security situation, the terrorists struck again. The target was the serene environment of Lahore.
Four people died and twenty others injured including women and children when an explosive laden vehicle exploded in the Johar Town neighbourhood. Several buildings and vehicles near the scene were damaged.
The unfortunate incident must be investigated and those behind it must be exposed and brought to justice.
As also stated by Inspector General Police Inam Ghani, such attacks are usually carried out by countries that want to harm Pakistan and its progress. Indeed one cannot expect anything good from the arch rival India which is always out to harm Pakistan.
This is not mere an allegation but there are several international reports now which admit that New Delhi is involved in instigating terrorism inside Pakistan.
The regrettable part, however, is that out of political and economic expediency, the major capitals and institutions are not ready to act against India.
Given the designs of the enemy, our authorities concerned must remain alert to pre-empt and foil any such incident(s) in future.
It is a matter of satisfaction that the long awaited National Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC) has finally become functional. There are over two dozen intelligence organisations in the country.
One of the lessons learnt by the country during the fight against terrorism was that effective intelligence coordination was the weakest link in the entire effort.
It importantly resulted in loss of critical time and in some cases, the agencies could not even piece together the information available to them. It was, moreover, a major hurdle to collective strategizing.
We are confident that setting up of the NICC under DG ISPR Faiz Hameed will go a long way in improving coordination amongst the intelligence apparatus and optimise their capabilities.
These foreign funded terrorists must not be allowed to regroup and damage the interests of Pakistan. These remnant elements must be chased down and eliminated with full force.
On the diplomatic front also, we should continue to expose the true face of India before the world.
