Daily Times

In recent months, terrorists have been trying to become active again in Pakistan. Over the past week, ten security personnel have been martyred in various terrorist incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On July 15, ten terrorists attacked Bannu Cantonment, but security forces thwarted the attack. Due to the timely and effective actions of the security forces, valuable lives were saved. The security forces foiled the terrorists’ attempt to enter the cantonment. During this attempt, the terrorists crashed an explosives-laden vehicle into the wall of Bannu Cantonment. In the terrorists’ suicide attack, eight soldiers of the Pakistan Army were martyred, while ten terrorists were killed in retaliation. According to a spokesperson of the Pakistan Army, this heinous act of terrorism was carried out by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, which operates from Afghanistan. This group has used Afghan soil for terrorist activities in Pakistan in the past. The Afghan government should consider whether, as a brotherly Islamic country, it is justified to provide its land for terrorist activities against another Islamic country and then not acknowledge it. Similarly, in Dera Ismail Khan, terrorists attacked a health centre on the night of July 15-16, resulting in the martyrdom of two Pakistani soldiers, while three terrorists were killed in retaliation. In recent times, since the Taliban government came into power in our neighbouring country Afghanistan, there has been an increase in terrorist incidents in Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Terrorists have carried out numerous attacks on security forces and civilians, resulting in a significant number of casualties. According to the Pakistan Army, there have been 1,063 attacks on security forces this year alone, in which 111 soldiers of the Pakistan Army have been martyred.

These martyrdoms show that the armed forces of Pakistan are vigilant in combating terrorists and are performing their duty to protect Pakistan by sacrificing their lives, ensuring no harm comes to Pakistan, even at the cost of their lives. The timing of these incidents is crucial, as they occurred at a time when the government recently announced an operation against terrorists under the name of Operation Azm-e-Istihkam. However, some political parties oppose this operation, ignoring the sight of young soldiers being martyred while opposing the operation against terrorists for their votes. Our political parties believe that issues should be resolved through negotiations, but on the one hand, the Pakistan Army faces daily attacks, and on the other hand, it is being asked to negotiate, while the reality is that when issues cannot be resolved through negotiations, a military operation becomes the only solution. It is being said that Operation Azm-e-Istihkam will not have public support, and Maulana Fazlur Rehman has termed this operation as instability, certainly pleasing the enemy. The army’s job is to fight, strategize for the operation’s success, and gain local support for the operation, which is the responsibility of the civil government.
Our civil government, whether federal or provincial, is currently engaged in infighting. How can they gain public support for this operation, which has become a question mark? This operation is to take place in the areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the border areas of Balochistan, but our KP government accuses the federal government and vice versa of being responsible for increasing terrorism in the country. Our politicians have failed at this time, as they are not willing to tolerate each other, imposing restrictions on one another, and no political party is ready to tolerate another.
Democracy is about tolerance and trust in each other, but what is happening here is that instead of tolerating each other, accusations are being made. These politicians do not care that the country is falling victim to terrorism, and the Pakistan Army, which sacrificed thousands of lives to establish peace in the country, is again facing instability. If the flood of terrorism is not timely blocked through Operation Azm-e-Istihkam, the country may once again fall into chaos.
If politicians cannot unite for the country, then there is no benefit to such politics and democracy. It would be better for the army, which is ensuring the country’s security by sacrificing their lives, to take control of the country. Due to the actions of politicians, people are losing faith in the current system. When politicians are not ready to trust and rely on each other and look to the army for their matters, then the army is better than them.