It is getting increasingly certain that the banned militant umbrella cannot stomach being ignored for a single day. The recent bloodbath in Quetta was orchestrated on the heels of a formal announcement to call off the ceasefire in a bid to hit the headlines with far greater vigour. Instead of showing a resolute determination to defend the motherland come what may, the state continues to dilly-dally; throwing a spree of ambiguous buzzwords in a desperate attempt to evade a tight line of questioning. While the newly-appointed army chief did not waste any time in showing where he stood on terrorism, he has inherited far too nasty of a can of worms and therefore, needs to substantiate his policies with actions. Some startling revelations echoed in Senate yesterday as National Counter-Terrorism Authority tugged at the “peace talks process” for serving as a fertile ground for the TTP to spread its network far and wide. But what might have appeared utterly shockening for the ruling elite was constantly being blared out of megaphones by tens of thousands in the mountainous tribal regions as they implored the state to stop this resurgence of lawlessness, misery and death in their valleys. The disastrous comeback of extortion calls, mysterious death warrants, deadly shootings, bombings and kidnappings could be seen by all but Islamabad was far too busy fighting a million fires raging in every corner to lend the hapless folks a passionate ear. Even though Monday’s gruesome beheading in Bannu was claimed by yet another terrorist outfit, there’s no denying the tragic downward spiral of the security situation. A functional sovereign country cannot allow anyone to take law into their own hands and make an example out of another citizen, let alone someone conferred with the responsibility of fighting against them. To our greatest misfortune, however, nothing gives these extremist criminals more thrill than writing a blood-curdling message with the lives of our soldiers; our children and our unarmed civilians. The writing on the wall is clear: get up, exert yourself or be prepared to see the castle crumble before your eyes. But this time, it is not just the north-west that is at stake. The flames of terror wish to take the entire citadel down. *