The government may not realise it, but the lukewarm security crisis in Swat valley has long become a death trap. However, the locals refuse to get killed by the unabated wave of militancy, at least without putting up a fight. It has been a summer of protests in the picturesque valley as hundreds of people have been clanging pots and pans in a futile attempt to draw the attention of the authorities. All they demanded was police action against instances of kidnapping for ransom, extortion and murders in broad daylight. “We want books instead of guns,” a faint voice of reason echoed through the mountains; not coming to terms with the “convenient” arrangement their country had signed with those whose lust for the blood of the innocent remained perpetually unsatiated. Probably irked by the ostrich’s head in the sand and little to no attention given to their concerns, the protestors have now warned to pick up arms themselves to cleanse their homeland of extremist outfits if the government did not wish to take any decisive action. What has been brewing far, far away from the mainstream radar as the militants straighten their rows and gather their strength is nothing short of a national tragedy. The alarming rise in the eerie knock on doors of affluent businessmen has not yet attracted a response from Islamabad. And while the unprecedented monsoon season and a nerve-wracking political crisis continue to make a 220-million-strong nation clutch the edge of its seats, the will to stop the menacing developments is nowhere to be found. It would be downright unconstitutional to write anything that even remotely suggests a dismantling of the writ of the state. Only the government and its security agencies should control the mandate over armed operations against any entity wheresoever and whensoever. But when hollow statements fixating on platitudes refuse to stem the rising Taliban tide, what exactly should these unfortunate people do? Should they once again brace themselves for terrorism 2.0, which–going by 155 deaths in formerly tribal districts in the last four months alone–is determined for an off-the-charts performance? Last time, the Taliban attacks had claimed the lives of more than 80,000 Pakistanis, mostly ethnic Pashtun residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Only time will tell what sinister plans they have fine-tuned for this stint. After all, a leopard never changes its spots. *