During his visit to the newly established National Counter Terrorism Training Centre at Pabbi Hills, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif has reiterated the army’s resolve to continue counter-terrorism operations both in the urban and rural areas of the country. While expressing his commitment to purge Pakistan of all kinds of terrorism, he sought the cooperation of the people in pointing out suspects. It is obvious that the war against terror cannot be won without the support and cooperation of common citizens. In every society, its citizens can act as the eyes and ears of the state. They can be very helpful in finding out hidden terrorists and their accomplices who try to sabotage peace by finding vulnerable situations, which abound in our country. Under the circumstances, placing reliance on intelligence agencies and army operations alone is not enough. Rather the people need to cooperate with the army to eliminate the scourge of terrorism. They have to come forward for the cleansing of the country from all the terror mongers who pose a threat to the country’s integrity. Everyone needs to be alert to the threat of terror and must keep an eye out for suspicious elements and objects. The initiative taken by the army to impart counter-terrorism training to the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) is a positive step. No doubt the army has acquired the capability to deal with terrorists and militant groups. It is commendable that the army is now focussing on the training as well as capacity building of the LEAs to chase terrorists out of their hideouts. It has become necessary that our police and LEAs are trained on modern lines to deal with the militants.
Besides counter-terrorism initiatives, the media has to play a very important role. It should not give any space to terrorists, who use these means of communication for the fulfilment of their nefarious agenda of spreading terror in society. By publicising the claims and threats of terrorists, the media inadvertently serves as their mouthpiece. Our media needs to play rather a more considered role. Instead of propagating the terrorists’ plans and their warnings, it should educate the masses on how to defeat them and should boost their morale. As underlined by the COAS, there is a need for a coordinated intelligence mechanism that must be strengthened to pre-empt terror-related incidents. Indeed, the cooperation of the masses is critical in the eradication of terrorism. Along with the war against terrorism, the civil-military leadership needs to work on establishing friendly relations with the neighbouring countries. We need to build good ties with India by resolving all issues through negotiations. Sincere efforts are needed to wipe out the insurgency existing in the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan once and for all. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/20-Mar-2015/fight-against-terror
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