With the start of the new year there was also a real increase in terrorism in our country. Figures released in the recently published 2013 Pakistan Security Report by the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) show that some 2,555 terror attacks across the country last year claimed the lives of at least 4,725 people and left at least 7,000 others injured. The report has criticised the government for following “an appeasement approach” while negotiating with the Taliban, resulting in a surge of terror attacks. It charges the government for its failure to identify the seriousness of terrorism and feared more damage in the coming years. The graph of terrorist acts, with an estimated 30 percent rise in terrorism-related casualties from 2013 to 2014 as compared to a 20 percent increase from 2012 to 2013, means more and more innocent citizens and soldiers are dying every day. Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its World Report 2014, released January 2013, says, “Militant groups such as…the ostensibly banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a Taliban affiliate, operate with virtual impunity across Pakistan as law enforcement officials either turn a blind eye or appear helpless to prevent attacks.” The HRW report has come at a time when militants have stepped up their attacks across the country, with the media reporting that militants carried out 25 major terrorist attacks in the first 20 days of 2014. Despite its top leadership loss, the TTP seems to be more active. Not a single day goes by without the loss of precious life. After the January 6 Hangu school suicide bomb attack, the nation was rocked by a powerful car bomb blast in Karachi on January 10. Later, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa experienced two attacks on January 13, including one in Peshawar and one in Shangla. The terrorists hit Peshawar and Shangla again on January 16. Sunday morning, January 19, brought news of an attack on security forces in Bannu, killing over 20 soldiers and injuring 15 others. R A Bazaar in the neighbourhood of GHQ in Rawalpindi was the target on January 20, in which 15 people were killed, including soldiers and students. This is a clear indication that now the time for talks is over. By attacking our military forces and conducting suicide blasts, while at the same time inviting the government for talks, the militants are virtually ridiculing the state. No more jokes, please! One believes that the government is set to tackle the terrorists head-on, as evident from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s statement that extreme decisions will have to be taken. However, if at all the government is unwilling, the nation should rise, unite and confront the terrorist menace under one banner. Terrorism cannot be hidden, reduced or stopped with unfulfilled promises in published manifestos. The US drone campaign in Pakistan, which according to the US remains a highly effective military tool, is another important reason for increases in terror attacks. In fact, the US policy of ‘precision surgical strikes’ inside Pakistan by using drones to kill high value targets has proved to be counterproductive for Pakistan and has ignited resentment in Pakistani society because of excessive civilian collateral damage. Nonetheless, the recent bloody attack on soldiers in Bannu shows that even were drones to stop, which is a Taliban precondition for peace, the Taliban will continue to attack civilians and military personnel in the name of their dead comrades from last year, or the year before, or the year before that. The Taliban’s new strategy is to target individuals, top personalities and media persons — to terrorise them to a point where they surrender. This shows that as long as we have lives to give, they will keep coming to take them, over and over again, one way or another. This is why the need of the hour is to stop all forms of terrorism. Should we keep sitting idle and wait for the government to fulfil its promises while witnessing first hand the surge in terrorism, holding the dead bodies of our near and dear, or those lying injured in hospitals, and seeing the blood of our country’s defenders needlessly spilt? It is time to take responsibility on our own shoulders to root out this menace, to become the defenders of our defenders, standing shoulder to shoulder with them. The prime minister is right in saying that an extraordinary situation demands extraordinary steps. The time has come to take those steps. The need of the times is to join together, extend our fullest backing to the army, participate fully in the fight and create awareness among the people who are still double minded about whether or not the Taliban are our own. This also creates a responsibility for the media to inform and educate us about the role we can play. Nobody will understand that the fire has reached our homes unless we make others realise and stand against it — the lack of interest is not only on the part of the government but also the people. The government is being criticised for increased militancy because its efforts for a peace dialogue with Taliban militants have led to a more lenient approach towards them. The time has come now to clear the minds of those who have been tricked and fooled by the government’s double standards and are still double-minded about the Taliban’s ideology. We have to unite in accordance to make this effort successful, to make the government realise that the nation is paying a cost in blood for its indecisiveness. Similar to what Sri Lanka did with the Tamil Tigers, we should acknowledge that they are our own people, but ‘our’ people who are murderers and criminals, our people who have become habitually ruthless bloodletters. The Taliban have made their stance crystal clear this time. They are not willing to let peace prevail. If the latest series of terrorist attacks fail to prompt action, it means that we, as a people, and not just the government, are indecisive about changing our fate as dictated by the Taliban. Political and religious parties must stop providing justifications for militant extremists, which does nothing but confuse ordinary people. The common man cannot let this practice happen repeatedly. Let us be on one page: identify the real enemy so that we all unite and prepare to demolish it as it is our war to fight and win. Failure is not an option. We have to win this war at all costs. There is nothing to discuss except the surrender of the Taliban who must then be subject to the law and punished for their crimes. The writer is a freelance columnist