March 28, 2013 11


The war on terror, now in its 12thyear, has entailed a financial cost that runs into, according to some estimates, trillions of dollars, but, perhaps, more important and, in fact, more painful is its multidimensional impact on human life. Looking at, for instance, the Pakistani scene, one would feel aghast at the devastated families, which were leading a happy, comfortable life when their breadwinners were alive and earning; their suffering now renders one speechless. While the dead are often buried in mutilated shapes, the injured, far greater in number, bear the scar of the bomb blasts for life not just on their bodies, but on their minds as well. Similarly, the destruction caused by the terrorist attacks is too difficult to measure, both in physical and psychological terms.

Leaving aside Iraq and Afghanistan where the local population witnessed hundreds of thousands of their kith and kin killed in the war on terror, Pakistan, of all other countries that are ranged against the militants, has suffered the most. According to the figures placed before the Supreme Court at Islamabad on Tuesday, the total number of casualties in Fata alone has been frighteningly high and the fight continues. At a hearing of the missing persons’ case by the apex court, the joint report of the Military Intelligence and the Inter-Services Intelligence put the total number of both the dead and the injured at about 49,000 and that includes the members of the armed forces as well as the civilians since Pakistan became an ally of the US in the war. As the militants had, in 2007-2008, challenged article 265 of the constitution by raising private armies and launched terrorist attacks, the soldiers took them on and, in the process, 1,479 of them have laid down their lives in defence of the country from 2008 to 2013. Other 5,745 have been wounded during this period. The number of victims belonging to the Frontier Constabulary comes to 675 dead and 1,978 injured. The confirmed casualties of the terrorists have, in these less than five years, been 4,279. They launched 233 suicide attacks, fired 9,257 rockets and made 4,256 bomb attacks. The economy lies in a shambles.

The above figures would send a chill down the spine of the people even those living away from the scene, making them realise that the country is at war. Thankfully, by their indiscriminate attacks, alike on the fighting forces and the civilians, the terrorists have alienated themselves from a large section of the country’s population in the country. With their support base having thinned out, the agencies believe that the intensity of their assaults has come down. The greatest fear at this point in time is that they might pull themselves up and manage to carry out a spate of suicide attacks in order to obstruct the general elections. Thus, the urgent need is that the intelligence agencies step up the information gathering work and the rest of the security forces get ready to respond to the challenge.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...remendous-loss

Terrorists are ruling the roost; they hit their targets at their will and at a place of their choosing, running amok at the lofty claims of the law enforcing agencies putting up fool-proof security arrangements for the protection of life and property of the common man. What to talk of a common man, the security cover given to the high value targets has been proved insufficient and insignificant when yet another suicide bomber attacked the convoy of the commandant of the Frontier Constabulary (FC) near an army check post on the Fakhr-e-Alam Road in Peshawar Cantonment on Friday, leaving behind twelve people dead and 30 others injured; Commandant of the paramilitary FC, Abdul Majeed Marwat, miraculously escaped unharmed. Therein Ittehad Town, Karachi, gunmen on Saturday hurled a firecracker and opened fire at a primary school killing its principal and wounding eight children. The gunmen fled on motorbikes and nobody has claimed responsibility for these attacks.
Pakistan especially the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capital Peshawar has become a favourite hunting ground of the terrorists. Notwithstanding, acts of terrorism in other parts of the country, in last couple of weeks, the terrorists have targeted girls’ school, refugees in Jalozai Camp and Jawans of the armed forces in North Waziristan apart from taking over Tirah Valley. The rampage insecurity across the country especially in Quetta, Karachi and KPK out-witted the armed forces, police, intelligence agencies and on the top of it the Frontier Constabulary. Combined together, these forces have failed to knit a security web against terrorists. The security forces are not inefficient, incapable, ill-trained or ill-equipped; certainly on the one hand, the political will to solve this issue once for all is non-existent, and on the other, coordination amongst the security and intelligence agencies is a major missing link that gives terrorists ample room and time to run through. Self-proclaimed former security expert running the Interior Ministry, many a times, predicted in public that terrorists will strike but he could do nothing to save 49000 people who had been killed by terrorists in his tenure. Yet he enjoyed perks and privileges as a federal minister for five years—indeed a miracle that can only happen in Pakistan; Alas! He is gone, leaving behind a legacy of inability and lethargy. It is too early to expect anything significant from the caretaker setup yet they, assigned the task of holding next election, will have to act too quickly to ensure that the job given to them is done. First, it has to raise the level of coordination amongst the agencies.

If in British Raj, the Intelligence Bureau and the CID can play pivotal role in maintaining law and order situation why cannot the countries’ agencies do the same especially when the Inter Services Intelligence and the Military Intelligence is also there to rub their shoulders with. All agencies combined together form a force to reckon with thus their failure is neither acceptable nor tolerable either. Secondly, corruption on every international border is a known phenomenon—Pakistan’s FC posted at the long porous Afghan border is no exception. The FC personnel, serving there over the years, are involved in all sorts of unwarranted activities; an immediate reshuffle in the placement of the FC personnel can provide an early soothing effect. Thirdly, the Interior Ministry should launch an intensive search of all black-water agents operating in the country especially in the FATA. Their connivance with terrorists here is hurting Pakistan more than anything else. Above all, a strict surveillance and monitoring over the most notorious police in Pakistan should also be put in place to eliminate cops working for minor gains. Moreover, enough is enough; all Afghans including the ones who had attained Identity Cards of Pakistan and are operating like Pakistanis should be thrown out of the country.
Pakistan has served the Afghan cause more than what it can afford. Undeniably, the presence of the peaceful or otherwise Afghans and their subsequent free movement in Pakistan is a constant source of help for terrorists. Even otherwise, Afghanistan has returned to normalcy thus there is no point to house the Afghans in Pakistan. The honest and thorough scrutiny of Afghans should start forthwith to come down hard on the illegal Afghans and other foreigners living in Pakistan. It is an established fact that foreign agents are funding the militants and terrorists, alluring them to continue to play havoc in the country. If the terrorist-attacks continued unabated as of now, the holding of elections, which are round the corner, will remain a distant reality. Setting aside the years’ lethargy of the previous government in tackling terrorism, the caretakers must act now with iron hands to punish the unpunished anti-Pakistan elements.

http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/46/

Pakistan is all set for holding elections on May 11. The caretaker set up at the center and the provinces is already in place. Thousands of candidates for the NA and the four provincial legislatures are engaged in submitting their nomination papers. The activity however is taking place in the shadow of the TTP. Fears are being expressed that with the government and its agencies fully engrossed in the elections, the terrorists might use the occasion to launch attacks on election gatherings and political leaders. The fears have further been strengthened by the TTP announcement early this month declaring that it considers the elections as an un-Islamic activity. The terrorist network has threatened to specially target three mainstream political parties during the election campaign. On Wednesday major security agencies told the election commission that the militants were determined to sabotage the elections.

It is highly disturbing that the Afghan government has allowed the TTP affiliates to use its soil against Pakistan. During the last two years the terrorists have used Afghan territory to conduct forays in a number of tribal agencies, killing innocent villagers, kidnapping scores of people and launching deadly attacks on security forces. Mullah Fazlullah operating from the other side of the Pak-Afghan border has continued to send terrorists to Swat besides ordering the attack on Malala Yusufzai. Despite repeated demands from Pakistan the Afghan government has failed to deter these elements from launching attacks. The demand to arrest Fazlullah and hand him over along with Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, already in Afghan custody, to Pakistan was rejected. As there was no effort on the part of the Afghan side to stop the incursions, the Pakistan Army was forced on several occasions to take recourse to shelling the militant hideouts. This would have been unnecessary if there was cooperation between the two sides. As Pakistan prepares for elections, the cross border attacks by TTP elements and the reprisals from the Pakistani side continue unabated.

Pakistan stationed extra troops to plug its border with Afghanistan during the 2004 and 2009 Afghan elections. This was to ensure that no militant from this side of the Durand Line was allowed to cross over to sabotage the polls. Pakistan is justified to expect a similar response from the neighbouring country. The Afghan side needs to appreciate the importance of reining in the militants at this crucial juncture. Recalling Afghan military officers from joint exercises with Pakistan is highly shortsighted. Both Afghanistan and Pakistan need to realize that the security and prosperity of the two countries depends on peace and cooperation against the terrorists. Both sides would be losers if they do anything that adds fuel to the fire. There is a need to stop both the cross border activity and the subsequent shelling and initiate talks to remove mutual grievances.

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/editorials/

April 03, 2013

In a meeting with Isaf Commander General Joseph F Dunford, COAS General Kayani conveyed his concern over cross-border attacks from Afghanistan. This is the least we could do, since these atrocities happening over the years have become dangerously frequent and have resulted in a massive loss of life.

The Nato and Isaf forces’ presence along the border is one factor that ought to have curbed such activity. As satellite technology and human intelligence gives them details of such movement, it is but unacceptable that Isaf which often calls itself an ally of Pakistan should be just watching this phenomenon passively. Islamabad’s longstanding demand has been to initiate action against the militant networks including the one led by Mullah Fazlullah, responsible for mass-casualty attacks across Pakistan. It was his outfit that carried out the assassination attempt on Malala Yousafzai for standing up for girls’ education. The role of the Afghan government too has been far from satisfactory; recently it refused to hand over some of the terror suspects wanted by Pakistani officials.

Under no circumstances, should Isaf let the militants blitz their way into Pakistani territory. As this complicates the job of the Pakistan’s military engaged in eradicating extremism from its tribal areas, at the end of the day this would add up to the collective failure of the fight against terror.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...ons/editorials

Once again, the local police and herds of the security agencies were asleep when dozens of daring militants raided Sheikh Mohammadi Grid Station in Peshawar suburb on early Tuesday morning with rockets and sophisticated weapons, leaving three persons dead and kidnapping nine others. Later the militants killed five of the hostages and threw their bodies a few meters away from the grid station. Having no fears of the retaliation from any quarters concerned, the militants fired at least 14 rockets and planted several remote-controlled explosive devices at the grid station, which exploded with big bangs. The militants, on mission, also torched important installation beside setting ablaze seven vehicles. On Wednesday, the relentless militants attacked a Rangers’ vehicle, killing three personnel and injuring three others in Karachi. Militants’ strikes is a routine affair in Pakistan, hardly a day goes by when militants are not making their presence felt. The frequency with which the militants are striking across Pakistan gives rise to feelings that entire military might coupled with herds of police and other agencies are aliens, having no clue about the state of affairs of the country. All what is being repeatedly said is just a lip service. Unfathomed sadness is that police patrols and check posts are just meant to mint money from innocent local residents not for the surveillance over the movement of the terrorists. Indeed, it is a matter of shame for the police force that was on duty on that ill-fated night. Immediately the entire night patrol that failed to detect movement of dozens of the armed people should be sent home. Their negligence is no more digestible and tolerable any more. Earlier, the militants in disguise of suicide bombers used to strike their targets but now they have changed their modus opendi, from suicide bombing to raids on the important installations-a development that should have sent ripple amongst ranks of the security forces. Expected it was yet the anticipation by the security agency has been found wanting of countering the retaliation of terrorists being battered in various parts of the country. The deteriorating administrative control over the country strengthens the point that the militancy has made inroads in the society beyond the anticipation of the power-that-be, and the indications are; it may deteriorate further to the extent that may jeopardize the next elections. The strategy of the targeted operation has gone down the drain.
The law enforcing forces need to review their contingency plan against the militants and the extremists. Reports are buzzed in Lahore that the relatively peaceful Punjab is next in line; after being hammered in Quetta, Karachi and the KPK, the immigration of the terrorists to the Punjab is quite obvious and the natural outcome hence they can pose all sorts of security threats at their will. The caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Najam Sethi is well aware of the militants’ tactics thus should take nothing for granted particularly in south Punjab. A proactive strategy should be put in place to flush out terrorists from the province before it is too late.

http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/46/

Every year without fail, for 33 long years the Pakistan People’s Party has held big rallies on the death anniversary of the party’s founding chairperson Zulfikar Ali Bhutto at Garhi Khuda Bukhsh, the burial place of the Bhuttos. The occasion was also marked by the meeting of the party’s policy-making Central Executive Committee. PPP workers in great numbers from across Pakistan gathered to show popular support for their party.

Now that the thirty-fourth death anniversary of the of Zulfiqar Bhutto is due to be held on Thursday (today), the party has called off the main rally citing a variety of reasons. But the most cogent reason is the danger of militants attacking the assembly of party’s top leadership, including its 24-year chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and workers. Bilawal was supposed to formally launch himself and the party’s election campaign from this village in Naudero. President Asif Ali Zardari is certain to speak to the party workers coming from district Larkana. Other leaders have been directed to hold anniversary rallies at the local level. The PPP is not the only one in the militants’ line of fire, many other mainstream political organizations, including the Awami National Party, face a similar threat. The threat may also be to the likes of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf but to a lesser degree because of this party’s consistent campaign against the US drone attacks on the territories of Pakistan, more precisely on the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Former head of the dictatorial regime, Gen Pervez Musharraf, also had to subdue his excitement in launching of his All-Pakistan Muslim League’s maiden electioneering for identical reason that were conveyed to him by two Pakistan Army officers when he landed at Karachi’s Quaid-i-Azam International Airport on his return home about a week ago.

The parties which face the least militants threat include the PML-N, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F and the Jamaat-i-Islami. It is so considered because when the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan offered dialogue to the government, the TTP leadership wanted Nawaz Sharif, Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Jamaat Amir Syed Munawwar Hasan to stand as guarantors to any possible agreement with the outgoing PPP-led coalition government. The TTP offer for a ceasefire during the election campaign was not accepted by the government because of the TTP’s track record of breaching almost all such agreements in the past.
Even before the election process was unfurled, the Home Ministry clearly warned the Election Commission of Pakistan that militant organizations including the Jundullah, the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and the TTP were planning to carry out large-scale terrorist attacks throughout Pakistan, especially in Balochistan, and this could jeopardize the general elections. Although law enforcement agencies have assured heads of political parties fool-proof security arrangement during the election campaigns, which have just begun, and on election day, politicians do not seem to have faith in these. They have enough reasons not to be convinced by the official assurances. Pakistan’s situation ahead of the May 11 elections seems as disturbing as when dictator General Pervez Musharraf resigned in 2008.

Although this is the first time in Pakistan’s history that a democratically-elected government has completed its five-year term, Pakistan is still considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Frequent terrorist attacks on government posts, army personnel or members of Shia community have claimed hundreds of lives in tribal areas and Balochistan on the border with Afghanistan and Iran and even in the mega city of Karachi. Security forces claim to have cleared most of the areas around the Pak-Afghanistan porous border, still they have not been able to get to the Pakistani Taliban and other Islamist groups which still carry out attacks on civilians.

Alarmed by fears that militant attacks could sabotage the election process, the Pakistan army’s top brass has recently decided to lead ‘integrated security arrangements’ and assist the interim government to ensure violence-free elections. It was a rare occasion for the corps commanders to have formally assembled for the second time in 20 days. The ECP also held two rounds of talks with the army in chalking out a security plan. The upcoming elections are crucial to the country’s future in more ways than one. It is, therefore, vital that all actors, from the ECP to the political parties to the caretaker set-ups and all other stakeholders cooperate with each other in the build-up to the polls.

http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/46/

Blood shedding and demagoguery are at its peak in Pakistan nowadays. Militants are killing innocent people without any fear and hesitation. The TTP and other terrorist organisations are wreaking mayhem across the country, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Karachi, and certain areas of the Punjab.

They have declared war against the state and our government, security agencies, including the army and police, have utterly failed to crush these anti-state elements. The policy of protecting "good Taliban" and "crushing bad Taliban" has proved very costly for Pakistan and its poor people. So far more than 40,000 people have lost their lives in the war on terror and number of killings are rapidly increasing every day.

The recent suicide attack on the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC) Commandant Abdul Majeed Khan which killed around 12 people, including four security personnel, shows clearly that nobody is safe from these terrorists in Pakistan. The FC Commandant Abdul Majeed Khan survived this deadly attack, which took place near the US consulate and the army check post. Around 35 innocent people wounded.

On August 4, 2010, the militants killed Sifwat Ghayur, the former FC commandant, in a suicide attack outside the FC headquarters. This time the FC Commandant Abdul Majeed Khan has a narrow escape.

On 31 March, two people were killed and six injured in Bannu as a roadside bomb exploded near an election rally.

"Former member of the dissolved Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Adnan Wazir received injuries, while two others died in the remote-controlled bomb blast near militancy hotbed North Waziristan. Adnan Wazir's convoy was hit near Noor Wali, 20 kilometres north of Bannu district. It was a remote-controlled blast and the target was the former MPA's convoy near Janikhel area," said Bannu police chief Nisar Tanoli.

The TTP has claimed responsibility for this attack. Talking to the media offices, the TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said: "He (Adnan Wazir) has affiliation with Awami National Party and that is why he was the target. It was the beginning of what we promised - attacks on the ANP. We claim responsibility for the attack. We are against the ANP and Adnan Wazir was a part of the ANP government for five years. We have directed our associates in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to target ANP election rallies and all its leaders". On March 30, a policeman was killed and five others were injured in Mardan.
"Police signalled two people riding a motorcycle to stop. One of them opened fire on police instead. Police retaliated and one of the injured bombers blew himself up after falling from the motorcycle. The other suicide bomber was chased and shot dead in the Katlang area. Additional Sub-Inspector Khushdal Khan died and two policemen were injured," the police official told the media. Separately, a bomb blast damaged a non-governmental organisation office in Peshawar, on the same day.

Many thinkers believe that the Taliban have inflicted the first blow to the election campaign in Pakistan. Keeping in view the failure of our civil and military authorities to crush this impending threat, we can easily predict that bloody days are coming in the near future.

The Daily Times writes: "The inability of civil and military authorities to strategise a plan that could be formulated into a cohesive policy to combat terrorism on its multiple, complex levels, and the practice of stop-gap measures seem to be incredulous keeping in the view the constant threat of terrorism on any given day. No substantial counter-terrorism policy has been implemented, which could be instrumental in prevention, and the eventual cessation of terror-related chaos in a country, reeling under the effects of spillover of war on terror and its multi-faceted consequences. The apparent lack of co-ordination between different intelligence agencies, the paucity of trust between various law-enforcement agencies, the incapacity of police to work in a systematic manner on city-to-city basis, and the courts' reluctance to give verdicts in terrorism cases, all these factors have become an amalgamation of what would only be termed an almost complete breakdown of law and order in areas that need round-the-clock vigilance to keep the militants at bay... The attacks on the FC and other security agencies are retaliatory actions in a blatant attempt to seek 'vengeance' for the attempts to eradicate militancy in the tribal regions of Pakistan, and the relentlessness of the same has become a horror story for the people of these areas, and in the perpetuation of fear all over Pakistan. This latest attack is another indication of the failure of the ANP government as well the central government to impose even a semblance of order in the terror-afflicted region. The caretaker cabinet's apprehension that the threat of terrorism will be the biggest sword hanging in the province as the election 2013 approaches is very valid, but the fear of sabotage has come at a time when all that is done will be nothing more than an exercise in 'too little too late'. But keeping in consideration the very real menace of terrorism as a top priority, some comprehensive programme has to be implemented before the elections, thereby ensuring the safety of campaign rallies of different political parties, and the Election Day gathering of huge numbers of people at polling stations. The failure to do so would bring about consequences that would be too horrific to be borne in a country that as soon as emerges from the aftermath of one terrorist disaster is hit by another one. The coming days would be conducive for militants looking to unleash more terror, targeting assembled groups of people in the wake of preparation for the elections, and it is imperative that all such ambitions be quashed in time. It is time for the intelligence agencies to work in unison with the law-enforcement bodies and civilian administrations. Any lapse to do so would prove too costly for a terror-worn Pakistan today, catapulting it into more chaos".

On the other hand, all our corrupt, venal and incompetent political and religious leaders are showing their demagoguery during poll rallies. They are feeling no shame to use catchy slogans and religion for gaining their own partisan interests. All these leaders have deceived the people again and again. The PPP leadership is still using the words like Roti, Kapra aur Makan (Bread, Clothes and Shelter), Shaheed Benazir and Shaheed ZA Bhutto's mission, after its very dismal performance in the government. Everybody knows that the PPP has not solved even a single problem of the people during its five-years rule but its leadership is still greedy for getting power yet again.
The PML-N has also failed the people of the Punjab, but its leader Nawaz Sharif thinks he can change the fate of people by becoming the prime minister the third time.

"Last time we carried out nuclear explosions. Now we will carry out economic explosions," Sharif pledged before the crowd in Mansehra.

During his address, Nawaz promised that if his party was elected a third time, he would build a motorway from Lahore to Karachi. "I am not fond of power, I only want to see my country progressing and my people prosper". "Give a vote for Quaid-e-Azam not for Wazeer-e-Azam".

On March 31, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazlur Rehman (JUI-F) Chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, stressed that Pakistan must be acknowledged as one of the region's most significant states.

Addressing a rally held under the title 'Islam Zindabad Conference' at Minar-e-Pakistan, Fazl said "No one has the right to strip us of our independence."
A News report says: "Spelling out his party's manifesto, Maulana stressed on judicious utilization of the country's resources." "We want to pull people out of the mire of humiliation and coercion," he stressed, adding at the same time that he accepts the legitimate rights of a landlord. He promised to transform the country into a welfare state where labourers will be given their rightful status in the society. "We don't need to buy gas from any other country," the JUI-F chief argued, saying the problem of load-shedding can be resolved through sensible decision making.

The MQM's Dr. Farooq Sattar has claimed that the next Sindh chief minister would be from the MQM. On March 31, Sattar said that "only people of Sindh could save Pakistan as its provincial assembly was the first to adopt a resolution in favour of the new country". He also said that the MQM did not just belong to Karachi but it is a party of Pakistan. Everybody knows that the MQM uses every method, including violence, to keep its hold on Karachi.
Syed Munawar Hasan, Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), has said: "There is a dire need to call a spade a spade now and boldly unveil the dishonest politicians and their corruption". On March 31, addressing the participants of "Umeed-e-Pakistan Youth Convention", Syed Munawar said that people should use the power of votes to get rid of corrupt parties. JI did not take part in the previous elections.

History shows that all these political parties and their leaders have failed the people of Pakistan again and again. The people of Pakistan now have a golden chance to get rid of corrupt leaders by using the power of their votes. The PTI has a golden chance to get power, as its leader Imran Khan has not yet been tested in politics. The PTI's leader Imran Khan has vowed to bring a sweeping change in the country by establishing peace and establishing justice. Time will tell about the fate of Imran and Pakistan.

http://www.weeklycuttingedge.com/front%20story01.htm

In a fierce fighting against militants in Tirah Valley, the Pakistan Army has lost yet another 23 troops and sustained injuries to several others. A crucial military offensive launched to recapture the restive Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency has resulted in killing of over 30 militants. The TTP captured entire Tirah Valley after a fierce gun-battle with the Ansarul Islam (AI) during the last month that forced a massive displacement of locals from war-hit area. Hence a full-fledged military offensive was planned with the help of the SSG and local Amn Lashkar volunteers to root out the strong bases of the banned outfits of the TTP from the restive valley.

Having back-up of gunship and jet planes, the forces are quite near to seize the area completely. In the most complicated hilly terrains of Tirah Valley, the support of the SSG and the local volunteers to the Army, pitched in the most difficult war, has lit up the hopes for retrieval. The hope against the hope is: the Army may well wrest back the control over the Valley that has become a stronghold for the TTP. The Army has entered into a decisive war against the militants. The Army advances in the Tirah Valley may gain new impetus if the political administration in the adjacent agencies and nearby settled areas also launches a serious hunt for the terrorists simultaneously.

The joint action will restrict the movement of the terrorists. It is generally believed that the FATA is a strong hunting ground for the extremists whereas the fact is that the TTP network has spread across the country especially the province of Punjab. To ensure success in Tirah, the security agencies should launch a joint operation to flush out extremists across Pakistan. Otherwise, the militants, over the years, having caused a sporadic devastation every now and then, may continue to do so if they are not countered with a massive force. The militants have ruthlessly killed children, women and elderly persons; the Tirah Valley had been their last merciless endeavor. Unfathomed sadness is the political parties are engaged in political knitty-gritty to reach the power-corridors ignoring the cruelties of militants, and some of them even went on to support a political peace process through negotiations with the TTP. Thus it gave the TTP, an ample time to regroup and rejuvenate to launch a massive crusade on the Tirah Valley. Now it is time for all the political parties to show no sympathy with the TTP men rather extend all-out support to the Army to continue with its decisive offensive against the self-styled Islamists to teach them a lesson to abide by the writ of the State. Any sympathy or soft corner from any quarter at this point in time with the extremists and militants in any part of the country will jeopardize the sacrifices rendered by the Army Jawans fighting war on terror and on the other hand; it will hoodwink the holding of next general elections.

The brave people of the FATA, apart from suffering massive loss of men and material, are pinning hope of their revival on forthcoming elections; and against all odds are preparing to exercise their right to vote in 190 polling stations set up to elect two members of the National Assembly. The political administration has enlisted 110 polling stations as sensitive. A comprehensive plan is afoot to provide stringent security cover to the polling stations to hold free, fair and impartial
elections.

The task is extremely difficult but not impossible. It, however, requires a firm political will to accomplish the job. There must not be any illusion that without taking the FATA in the mainstream, the peace cannot be established in the rest of the country.

The deteriorated situation in Karachi and Quetta will come alive if the security agencies managed to flush out extremism from the country in the ongoing targeted operations; the militancy and the State, under any pretext, cannot go together especially killing in the name of the nationalism or the religion is a forgone phenomenon. All those up against the ruthless terrorism deserve unconditional support and appreciation of the nation and political leadership alike.


http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/40/

Another military operation is now underway in Khyber Pakthunkhwa (KP). The small matter of the continuing militancy in our north western province continues to return to the top of the political agenda. With 23 soldiers killed in the Tirah valley operation, the militant presence in this critical region in the province has become a source of instability and fear as elections draw near. The military’s response has been to intensify the operation in the area. The Tirah Valley has a strategic importance for both the military and militants groups.

Located in Khyber, part of the semi-autonomous tribal region, it is the main sanctuary for Taliban militants in the country. The army has launched scores of operations against the Taliban in the tribal region in recent years, but certain areas like the Tirah Valley have remained outside its control. Securing the Tirah Valley would be an important victory for the military in terms of reasserting its control on the rebellious northern regions. The current military’s campaign is therefore meant to cleanse the strategically important area of the malign presence of militants, and aims at the greater goal of securing Peshawar and the settled areas for the upcoming general elections. For militants, the Tirah Valley is an important hideout that has strategic significance. On one side, it shares a border with Afghanistan while on the other side it leads to the plains of Bara, which connect the agency to the outskirts of Peshawar. The Khyber Agency also links several tribal districts to each other, serving as a north-south route within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The region has been long fought over by a mix of militant organisations, including the TTP, the Ansarul Islam and Mangal Bagh’s Lashkar-e-Islam, all of whom see it as an important base for their activities. Khyber is among seven semi-autonomous tribal districts of Pakistan near the Afghan border and is rife with homegrown insurgents and home to religious extremist organizations.

The facts on the ground are that the Pakistan army has sacrificed too many personnel without any decisive action taken against militant groups that inhabit the area. It is hoped that the current operation shall be able to cleanse the area of militants. The area still remains a base for militants for attacks on Peshawar, such as the missile attack on the Peshawar airport this Tuesday. The recent killings of army personnel should have served to strengthen the resolve of the security apparatus of ridding us of the threat in a decisive manner. While victory is not guaranteed by the current operation, the Pakistan Army needs to take control of it once again to get a moral victory and provide a promise of peace for the general elections which are a month away.

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/editorials/

The attack by unknown, but believed to be Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TT) militants on Sheikh Muhammadi grid station on the outskirts of Peshawar recently, which killed seven police and WAPDA officials and caused damage of around a whopping one billion rupees, demonstrates the scale of the threat from the insurgents and raises a big question mark on the taking place of polls in the area and the entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The grid station is located at the junction of the KP border with FATA.

The attack, according to sources, was launched by hundreds of militants armed with sophisticated weapons. All believed that the TTP would soon take responsibility of the attack, but surprisingly the group denied its involvement. However, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the attack was launched by the TTP and refusal to accept responsibility by the group was to evade criticism. Indeed, if the TTP was not behind the Sheikh Muhammadi attack, then it is of great concern, that which militant outfit perpetrated the attack?

The TTP may not want to accept the responsibility because it would put an end to the calls for talks by the political parties, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and the Awami National Party (ANP) with the group. Whereas, the insurgent group definitely wants to have talks with the government, but it wants to have them on its own terms. Due to which there has not been any headway in this regard. The JUI-F, the PML-N and the ANP, according to these parties' insiders do not at all want any talks with the insurgents but want to use the offer of talks as a carrot to blunt the attacks of the TTP during the election season. These parties also want to evade the attacks of the TTP on their leaders and workers during the election campaign and to divert the insurgents' attention towards their opponents. Interestingly, the JUI-F and the PML-N have entered into an electoral alliance and have assumed a pro-Taliban stance, while the ANP has called for talks but vowed to continue fighting the TTP.

It is typical of terrorist groups to simultaneously continue attacks, some of them very bold when they offer peace talks. The TTP surprisingly extended an olive branch to the government in December 2012, and renewed it in February this year, to which a large number of political parties also responded positively. However, the military high command termed it a ploy of the insurgent group to buy time and reinforce its ranks. As far as the military's stance is concerned, it is a rational stance, because the history of the TTP demonstrates that it has violated every peace deal it inked with the governmental authorities. The peace deal with Maulana Fazlullah and Sufi Muhammad in Swat by the ANP government in March 2009, is a case in point. So it is quite debatable, whether the TTP is really earnest about talks with the government. Some time back, the TTP spokesman also issued a couple of statements which for the first time contained the words "our political shura".

It means that either the group has started considering itself as a political group or again wants to hoodwink the government and the political parties. Against this backdrop, the TTP would not like to take responsibility for the attack on Sheikh Muhammadi grid station. Thus there may be attacks in the coming weeks too, which may not be owned by the group. At the same time, from the TTP or any insurgent group's point of view, it is also very important to continue staging large-scale attacks. These serve many purposes for them. The foremost is to maintain the aura of fear and terror. Without a terror-filled atmosphere a terrorist group cannot remain relevant because in normal time the government and society do not take the terrorist groups and their demands seriously.

Secondly, the large-scale attacks by insurgent and terrorist groups send a very strong message across that they have huge destructive power and the government has somehow to negotiate with it through dialogue. At the same time the aim is to drive the people to pressurize the government to enter into talks with the insurgents.

Thirdly, the large-scale attacks keep the internal cohesion of the group intact, especially at times when the group is not able to achieve its ultimate purpose and consequently there is large-scale disenchantment within its rank and file.

The timing of the Sheikh Muhammadi grid station attack is also very important. It has come at a time when the country has entered the election season. At this time such attacks attract more national and international attention because everyone starts questioning the suitability of the environment for elections. Obviously, if such attacks continue unabated, fair and free elections are not possible. As far as the TTP, its affiliates like al-Qaeda and other non-TTP Pakistani Taliban groups are concerned, they are vehemently against the process of elections as they have time and again stated that they do not believe in the country's Westminster type democracy and political system. Even many of these groups have termed the existing Pakistani political system as an 'infidel' system and the country's constitution as un-Islamic.

Here it may be mentioned that while making offer of talks, the TTP last December set the condition of re-writing the country's constitution according to its whims. All these statements and actions of the insurgent group make its political credentials highly questionable. If the TTP has really started considering to transform itself into a political organization then it ought to behave politically. It has to enter the political arena instead of obliterating the political sphere altogether. As far as the state and society's response to the TTP, its attacks, peace talk offers and statements is concerned, there is large-scale confusion everywhere.

This writer happened to visit one of the victims of the Sheikh Muhammadi attack. The father of a victim, who also is a religious person, claimed that foreign agencies are responsible for the attacks. This confusion is understandable because most of the officials and people cannot make out what the terrorist group really wants and what is its real agenda.

Nevertheless, the state and society has to understand the situation in order to have an effective response. Otherwise the insurgents would continue to wreak havoc.


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