Daily Times

Human life is more than just a number. But for the sake of drawing a comparison and to put the point firmly across, Pakistan, a country that has been embroiled in an unrelenting struggle against monstrous terrorism for the last three decades, still lost over 1600 lives in 2024, according to a report published by an independent think tank. Civilians or security personnel, just this number alone should be enough to paint a harrowing picture of bloodshed; a tragedy that unfolds each day.

With more than 59,000 sensitive operations carried out against high-value targets, resulting in the death of 925 terrorists, our armed forces have definitely played their respective part in standing on the front line impressively well. Their herculean efforts to tackle the growing security challenges at a time when TTP continues to roar like an unbridled beast, feeding on the support from across the border and spreading its roots deep within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa deserve to be applauded by the country for risking their lives to protect us from those who thrive on destruction.

But no bravery can deny how each life lost is a story curtailed, a family left shattered, and a future irreversibly altered. The relentless violence inflicts wounds that run far deeper than mere numbers: a mother mourning the child she can no longer hold or a husband grieving for the wife stolen away in an instant of madness.

While the dedication, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to the cause of peace of those standing guard is nothing short of heroic, what has the administration done to decisively crush its enemies of peace? An unsettling exclamation by a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lawmaker on the floor of the house regarding terrorists taking over five checkposts in Bajaur, for instance, gives a befitting context to how our counter-terrorism operations have largely been reactive. Who would dare explain these incursions before a truth and reconciliation commission without churning out the usual platitudes or accusing political rivals?

Any earnest attempt to address the larger issue would require our political leadership to press the reset button and sit in the august avenues with an unwavering resolve to fight for the things that actually matter. All petty squabbles can wait for another day. Between dismantling sleeper cells, curbing illegal activities that sit at the bedrock and pinpointing the facilitators, there is a lot that requires the government to rise from the ashes of complacency.

We need a united front, a coalition of all segments of society – politicians, the military, civil activists, and international allies – to come together with one clear agenda: obliterating the scourge of terrorism from our beloved homeland. *