The New Year has brought considerable security concerns, to say the least. Zarb-e-Azb had, without a doubt, decimated the enemy’s habitat in the tribal area and the Taliban were on the run for more than a year now. However, since they have been able to recalibrate enough to strike repeatedly once again, obviously more will be needed than the hardware of the Waziristan Operation. And, expectedly, the latest downside has not been lost on our friends outside Pakistan, especially the United States, not to mention the international media.
Once more the White House has chosen to fall back on the ‘do more’ demand. It went away when Zarb-e-Azb took off, and was almost forgotten when Islamabad first facilitated the Kabul-Taliban dialogue. But it resurfaced for a while when Mullah Omar’s death, and Pakistan’s complicity in hiding it, was leaked. Things were fine again as another attempt at negotiations was playing out. Now, though, it has come back not because of any differences between Washington’s expectations and our actions, but rather the disturbing new trend in our backyard and the region.
Naturally, the Pakistani leadership has not taken Obama’s suggestions too well. They did not like the mention of the long war in his State of the Union Address, and they were not too pleased with the ‘do more’ one more time. Yet they cannot deny that despite the successes of military operation so far, the inability to move forward on NAP, etc, has led to considerable loss of initiative. Nothing pressed this in more than the Charsadda attack. Promises of ‘never again’ after the APS attack, and countless other slogans, did not ring so loud. People are, naturally, more apprehensive now, and many are questioning the government’s ability to protect their children in their schools. The government is advised to take this disturbing trend of increased attacks seriously. Nobody will be able to say much if we take the lead in cleansing the land, truly, of terrorists “of all hues and colours”.
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/01/26/comment/obamas-message/
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