Daily Times

As if those who represent the ne plus ultra needed another reminder to sit back and tragically acknowledge that “all was (not) well,” militancy 2.0 once again trickled down from the mountainous terrain to strike at Karachi. While the office of none other than the Karachi police chief has been cleared and as many as three terrorists neutralised, the nightmare is still far from over.

If wearing suicide vests and carrying grenades is enough to topple the entire police department of the biggest metropolis in the country as it frantically embroils itself in an intense gun battle, it would be worthwhile for the prime minister to take a step back and inquire from his cabinet whether Pakistan is actually ready to “weed out the scourge of terrorism.” That security authorities in Sind have already unrolled plans about an audit to investigate what allowed the terrorists to bang down the door of such a sensitive installation is a great first step but one in need of many, many more in progression.

A brief period of normalcy might have been too good to be true but civilian law enforcement has to realise they are back to the horrors of hellfire. In this regard, the state is required to pull back the duty National Action Plan from some ill-kept cabinet in storage; rummage through its contents and provide the civil forces with both capacity and equipment for them to emerge as a formidable entity. Neither theirs nor the lives of millions walking on the streets can be easily expensed as collateral damage.

For anyone still pinning hope on the Taliban equation to turn around, accept the olive branch and repay us for all that we’ve done before and since the Fall of Kabul, the seemingly neverending spree of attack across the length and breadth of the country should send the message loud and clear: only decisive action against not just a few heavyweights but every single one of sleeper cell and stronghold can help secure the lives of Pakistanis. Fail to do so and be prepared to walk on eggshells in anticipation of where those thirsty for our blood may decide to unleash their wrath next. The days when dragging feet here and throwing buzzwords there could do the trick are well behind us. *