The clock may be silent, but the second hand is ticking away; adding more and more gravity to a fast-developing situation in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The terrifying standoff in Bannu Cannt continues where as many as 20 fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan are hosting a lunch party inside a counterterrorism facility. There is a hostage crisis wherein the militants have taken possession of the gated property and made viral videos of security personnel trapped inside as they demand safe passage to Afghanistan. Talks are underway as the civilian and army leadership are presenting a united front against the TTP spokespersons in a desperate attempt to defuse the tension. That Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been sitting on a kerosene keg for far too long and expected the providence the carve out some miraculous resolution has been reiterated far too many times to the point of sounding repetitive. However, we can still not push the unparalleled acts of valour by the law enforcement agencies as their personnel stood in the line of fire to defend the motherland. More than 107 police officers laid down their lives in the war against terrorism in the first 11 months of 2022. When generic reports come down heavily on the counter-terrorism department and its so-called inefficiency, they forget to consider the shoestring budget and the negligible deployment of higher-level officials. After all, such a crucial department cannot be run solely on willpower. The criminal errors in the political judgement in the last few years have managed to reawaken the sleeping serpent, which appears to have gathered an even greater zeal. As for Bannu, it can only be hoped that the state would prioritise the welfare of trapped civilians and officers, who have been reduced to sitting ducks in the dirty skirmishes. Clearly, terrorism would leave the table with an upper hand but let’s just save human lives for now. Any attempt to restore the state’s credibility and sovereignty would first need a detour to the boardroom. Pakistan needs to win this existential war again. No qualms about that. Victories cannot be claimed on back-channel chatter or knee-jerk reaction. If careless politics had been responsible for opening the gates in the middle of the night and letting in the fierce enemies, only politics can help offer the armed forces solid support to chalk down a fool-proof, magnificent plan to push the proverbial genie back inside! *