IT is satisfying that during an interaction of Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir with representatives of different political parties in Peshawar on Monday, a consensus emerged on the need to take the ongoing war against terror to its logical conclusion. The political representatives showed vivid clarity on the unflinching support of the defence forces and law enforcing agencies (LEAs) in the nation’s fight against terror and agreed on the need for a unified front beyond political colours against the extremist philosophy of terrorist groups. On his part, the COAS affirmed that the Pakistan Defence Forces and law enforcement agencies stand as an unbreakable force, resolute in their mission to protect the motherland and its people.
This is an important development as the issue of terrorism and extremism has many dimensions and can only be addressed effectively through united efforts and full backing of the entire nation. No doubt, our defence forces and personnel of law enforcing agencies have rendered immense sacrifices and achieved visible successes in their war against the menace of terrorism but this fact is not properly appreciated because of intensive and malicious propaganda campaigns by some vested interests. A case in point is the delicate situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) where numerous incidents of terrorism took place during the last one year in which hundreds of innocent people lost their lives. The resurgence in terrorism is also affecting economic and commercial activities besides daily routines of the people because of increased threats to the life and properties of the citizens. Terrorist outfits are particularly targeting troops and security personnel as well as state symbols. However, despite the delicacy of the situation, most of the political leaders from the province are not in favour of a full-fledged operation to wipe out terrorists and their backers. Their reservation is not based on ground realities but political considerations and as a consequence the hands of the defence forces and security agencies are somewhat tied. In this backdrop, the Army Chief has done well in consulting and briefing the political leadership as such interaction helps ward off unfounded apprehensions, makes threat perception clear and puts strategy of the government in due perspective besides ensuring a feedback to strengthen the counter-terrorism campaign. We have repeatedly been emphasizing in these columns that general as well as intelligence-based operations are not directed against ordinary citizens but only against hard core criminals and therefore, these should be backed by segments of the society for the sake of their own security and that of the country. Of course, there is an issue of collateral damage, which can be avoided or mitigated with due care and input from the local population and leadership. It is also a reality that the defence forces and personnel of law-enforcing agencies, despite extreme provocations, exercise maximum care to ensure precision in their operations. That is why, General Asim Munir underlined that our forces have relentlessly pursued and eliminated key terrorist leaders, dismantled their infrastructure, and neutralized their cells, sending a clear message that terror has no place in their land. His remarks about the conspiracies being hatched by perpetrators of heinous crimes and their sponsors need to be properly understood by all political parties as well as the provincial governments as their cooperation is important in taking the campaign against terror to fruition. The COAS cautioned that the enemy may try to sow seeds of discord and fear but affirmed ‘we will not relent’ and hostile elements will be dealt with iron hand. Pakistan Army, despite a host of challenges, is gradually clearing different areas and it is now for the civilian governments and leadership to devise plans and strategies to make peace and security sustainable.
