Daily Times

Is Pakistan ready to risk a crucial province just because it was too oblivious to realise the intentions of those who had come knocking for a nail?

Distressing news continues to pour in from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where once a vestigial presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan is fast transforming itself into a force to reckon with. Not only are they determined to leave a bloodied trail in their wake, but their bizarrely-worded press release, praising local heroes who contributed towards the rescue operation in Battagram and announcing cash awards, carries a terrifying tinge. This time around, the agenda does not centre around simple, no-questions-asked bouts of violence. By crafting a social agenda by winning over the local population and promising to turn over a new leaf, they appear to replicate the Kabul model. A series of serious allegations were further affirmed by the British High Commissioner to Pakistan who warned against not taking due note of a thriving collaboration between Pakistani Taliban and their brother outfits in Afghanistan. Although the public sentiment was overwhelmingly against the resurfacing of the TTP and their Klashinkofs in Swat when they repeatedly sounded the alarm over the presence of militants in the mountainous region, the authorities would do well to remember that Rome was not built in a day. Every chink to the armour counts, especially for a country like Pakistan where failure to define the security problem has created a long, long queue of headless chickens (running around in all corners). The masses may not stand behind them today but who is to stop them from finally losing faith in their state’s ability to protect their right to life and safety, throw the towel and switch sides. Those living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would have to be given the assurance that they matter, their lives matter and their livelihoods matter. May their hearts be won through comprehensive economic reforms or investing in the counter-terrorism infrastructure or a genuine hand on the back that means they, too, are equal and cherished citizens of Pakistan, something or the other would have to be done to nip the ambitious designs. *