Our every celebration, whether religious, cultural, or national, starts with security preparation. While security preparedness shows the vigilance of the state and the public, the core issue remains: why is terrorism not being culled from Pakistan? The recent suicide attack on a mosque within Darululoom Haqqania in Nowshera has once again triggered alarm bells. In response, police across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have tightened security around mosques and seminaries, particularly during Ramazan, when worshippers gather in large numbers. Patrolling has been intensified, and SHOs have been tasked with safeguarding religious institutions. The same level of security can be across Pakistan in Ramazan, Muharram and Eid days. But this pattern of reactionary measures raises an unsettling question – why do we continue to live in a state where fear dictates our prayers, our movements, and our traditions? Pakistan has spent decades firefighting terrorism. Remember the days from the Red Mosque siege in 2007 to the APS Peshawar massacre in 2014, from sectarian bombings to targeted killings of religious scholars, every act of terror has forced us to reinforce security but has failed to eliminate the root cause. We have built barricades around mosques, yet extremists still find a way in. We have armed our police, yet suicide bombers remain undeterred. We have increased surveillance, yet hate speech thrives in hidden corners. The issue demands deeper solutions than temporary security enhancements. The issue stems from infiltration of radical ideologies into religious, political and even educational spaces. This has allowed extremism to mutate. For the last two decades, our fight against terrorism has often been limited to military operations, but true peace can only come when intolerance is uprooted from mindsets, curriculums, media and pulpits. If security measures were the solution, Pakistan would have long been free of terrorism. We cannot keep reinforcing walls around our prayers; we must dismantle the forces that make them necessary. And until that day comes, fear will be here. *