The author is a freelance columnist
The country has been facing an unabated wave of terrorism for over a decade. The military operations in Waziristan were considered indispensable in delivering a significant blow to the hardened criminals, who have taken refuge in those tribal areas considered to be safe havens. Ever since the military operations began, these groups have dispersed and changed their strategy to start targeting densely populated areas and places of worship, inflicting colossal damage in an effort they believe to be their revenge. Terrorist attacks on two churches in Lahore have left many people dead and many others injured. Due to the large crowds that gather at churches on Sundays, the terrorists chose this day to inflict heavy casualties by targeting the worshipers.
After protests broke out, the enraged mob lynched two men whom they considered to be suspects, since the police was unable to arrest them, wasting the opportunity to investigate their involvement. This was the most serious attack on a minority after the twin church attack in the Kohati gate area in Peshawar, in which around 80 people were killed with more than 100 injured. After this dastardly attack, protests started in many parts of the country with enraged crowds blocking the roads, setting valuables on fire and the police abstaining from responding too strongly to avoid clashes with the protestors.
Security forces believe that the suicide bombers blew themselves up at the gates of these churches and have pointed out the limitations of the government in being able to prevent these kinds of attacks. Security guards and police constables present at the gate managed to keep the terrorists out of the crowded premises to save many precious lives. Had these bombers entered the premises, this attack would have been a lot more devastating in terms of casualties. The spokesperson of a banned outfit, a breakaway faction of the Pakistan Taliban, has claimed responsibility for this cowardly attack in which innocent civilians were targeted. Although the security forces have successfully controlled these fanatic groups in the tribal areas, they have been uprooted from their main bases there and have taken refuge in the bordering areas of Afghanistan. The writ of the government is very weak in these regions, making it difficult to nab them.
The whole nation is united against these criminals, who are not only poised to hurt the nation but also inflict irreparable damage to the name of Islam — which is a religion of peace. These terrorists do not have any agenda other than the destruction and targeting of civilian establishments to further their nefarious causes. They have targeted schools, mosques and have been involved in inciting sectarian strife after failing to target the security forces that have been successfully chasing them. Such a suicide attack in Lahore should be a matter of concern for the Punjab government because this was the second most serious attack in the provincial capital after the deadly attack on the police lines some time back, which raised many questions about the capacity of the intelligence agencies.
Terrorism has now become the largest uphill challenge being faced by Pakistan and has been placed on the top of the priority list by our security experts, who are rightly pursuing the cause to fight the menace. They have successfully formulated initiates like the national action plan. This comprehensive plan paved the way for the constitutional amendment, under which military courts were to be set up. Special powers were given to security forces to nab any criminals, despite hesitations by political stakeholders, who were safeguarding their narrow political interests instead of pursuing a broader national consensus. Although the military courts have not yet been established, there are many initiatives already in play, such as the implementation of death sentences whilst ignoring foreign pressure in this regard, the biometric verification of sims (which is a herculean task given the number of subscribers in the ever expanding telecom industry) and mounting pressure on Afghan and NATO forces to launch operations against splinter groups in the bordering areas in Afghanistan.
However there are still many challenges that still need to be surmounted, such as fundamentalist groups and religious parties, which are said to have soft corners for these terrorists. As Punjab interior minister identified in his recent statement, there are many seminaries in Southern Punjab that are believed to facilitate these groups by giving them refuge and spreading their ideology. These seminaries brainwash youths and lure them into carrying out these acts of terror as their religious obligation to fight against what they call the forces of oppression. Our police force, which has always been tainted by corruption and political interference has still not been able to tackle this uphill task of controlling terrorism — a far different challenge from regular criminal activities. There needs to be more work done practically, rather than just passing resolutions and amendments. Intelligence agencies need to be more proactive in predicting these attacks, instead of focusing on taking reactive measures and arresting suspects after these unfortunate incidents. A proactive frame of mind from the security agencies is desperately needed to avert any future attacks, because our enemies will continue to attack soft targets. The terrorists know that it is virtually impossible to provide security to all civilian establishments, and predicting them beforehand is necessary to avoid their occurrence altogether.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/20-Mar-2015/another-barbaric-act-of-terrorism
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