The wave of terrorism again
PAKISTAN’S security agencies had made many sacrifices to restore law and order in areas near the Pak-Afghan border, but the way the US and NATO forces have left Afghanistan after 20 years has led to many problems.
On the one hand, a human tragedy is about to happen in Afghanistan and on the other hand, the affiliates of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have been given an open reprieve. They have again started their sabotage operations in Pakistan with Afghanistan as their base.
In the last few days, there have been seven incidents of sabotage in a row, most of which the TTP has claimed responsibility for. Now the Lahore blast near Anarkali area is a key to the same chain of events.
Pakistani security agencies are not only fully prepared to deal with the destructive activities of the banned TTP and its effects, but are also busy crushing the head of the TTP by conducting operations in the areas adjacent to the Pak-Afghan border.
However, the Pakistani government will have to remind the Kabul Taliban government of its promise not to allow its soil to be used for terrorism against Pakistan.
There is no doubt that our defence forces and intelligence agencies have largely wiped out the terrorists in a long war against terrorism, but at the same time there is a well-known proverb that beyond terrorism, terrorism is born again, that is, the descendants of terrorists also become terrorists and getting rid of their existence is not a one day task.
In order to get rid of this monster, apart from war, we have to create conditions in which the remnants of terrorists can be prevented.
Despite all the claims in Pakistan, terrorism has not been completely eradicated yet, but it has been on the rise recently. Behind this new wave of terrorism is the handiwork of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
The TTP has claimed responsibility for some of the incidents of sabotage, but has not issued a statement on the remaining ones. It is speculated that they are behind such incidents.
This situation is very worrisome that terrorism is on the rise again. Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid has said that there are sleeper cells of terrorists in the capital as well.
If the terrorists have reached Islamabad and managed to carry out a terrorist activity in Lahore, what is the Interior Ministry doing? The sleeper cells of terrorists should be eradicated as soon as possible.
The Interior Minister has been pointing out terrorists in the vicinity of the federal capital — Islamabad and Lahore city, but has not been able to stop them from entering the cities.
Instead of talking as soon as possible, practical steps should be taken since there is no need to reiterate that the best intelligence is the one that detects the threat in a timely manner and crushes the risk takers as soon as the possibility arises.
However, the bomb explosion in Lahore city’s famous Anarkali bazaar stirred a wave of terror among the locals.
At least, two causalities and 26 persons were reported injured by an explosion planted in a motorcycle upon which Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar condemned the incident and took notice of the same by providing directions to facilitate the injured with possible medical treatment.
These small scale attacks of first targeting security forces and then civilians could be the aftermath of breakdown of talks between TTP and Pakistani government.
There is no denying the fact that the Pakistan Army broke the back of terrorism during Operations Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad but once again the remnants of the terrorists have started a series of subversive acts. The Pakistan Army is already vigilant against terrorism and other security forces must also be watchful to control the situation.
The government should equip the security forces with all possible facilities to prevent the rising incidence of terrorism and make the international community aware of its problems, so that terrorism can be eradicated with the cooperation of the international community.
How long will Pakistan continue to fight terrorism alone? Pakistan has already lost thousands of lives and billions of rupees due to terrorism, yet Pakistan is not only viewed with suspicion, but also many times baseless allegations are made.
On the one hand Pakistan is dealing with terrorism with its limited resources and on the other hand it has to clean up its act.
While evidence of India’s open terrorism in Pakistan has been presented at the international forums, including the United Nations.
Despite this, the international community has remained a silent spectator to India’s terrorist policy. It is the result of the duplicitous policy of the international community that India has been thwarting all Pakistani efforts for peace in the region.
The international community should take immediate notice and not only stop India from sponsoring the TTP, but also give full support to Pakistan against terrorism. If the international community continues its duplicitous policy, the new wave of terrorism could engulf the entire world.
—The writer is a regular columnist, based in Lahore.
