FC killings
From the Newspaper | Editorial |
Jan 7th 2012

FRIDAY`S report that 15 Frontier Constabulary personnel have been brutally murdered by the Taliban is a reminder that we are not out of the woods yet. The decline in terrorist attacks in 2011 had led to some hope that Pakistan`s Islamist militancy problem is increasingly being brought under control. But this ruthless act demonstrates that the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan is still unwilling to accept the state`s authority in certain areas. The TTP declared that the step was taken in response for action by security forces in Khyber Agency, making it clear that it is quite willing and able to retaliate when the state tries to exert this authority.

The incident once again disproves the rhetoric of some political parties that it is foreign forces, not Pakistanis and Muslims, that are fighting the state. The conflict is clearly an indigenous one driven by citizens of this country who wish to establish fiefdoms where they can operate outside the bounds of the law. As such, this latest development points to a couple of realities that should no longer be ignored. One, the Frontier Constabulary is essentially a police force. Unlike the better-trained and better-equipped army and the Frontier Corps, it does not have the wherewithal to carry out the kind of security duties required in some of the border regions between the tribal areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This incident should be used as an opportunity to either step up their resources and training or to revis it their deployment in these areas. Second, the incident was a reminder that at least parts of North Waziristan remain a lawless hub for militant activities, including criminal activities carried out by militant groups. By now a clear pattern has also been established of kidnapping victims, whether state employees or private citizens, being held there while negotiations are conducted or until they are killed. This brazen killing of over a dozen security personnel should be a moment for the army and the civilian government to rethink their approach to North Waziristan and consider whether some action there, if only targeted strikes, is finally warranted.

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