Sir: Finance Minister Rana Afza has said that in the last decade, over Rs 297 billion has been spent in the war against terrorism. One cannot be dismissive of the fact that Pakistan has given a lot of sacrifices in its war against terrorism and has also apparently succeeded to an extent. However, terrorism has not only survived but is gaining more momentum after the militant outfits were mainstreamed. It is just not a few militant groups that Pakistan will have to defeat; it’s the extremist ideology and polarization in the society that has to be defeated. After a decade of war against terrorism, this remains a dream with more terrorism gaining more enormity and momentum. In the absence of US aid, this war seems uncertain more than ever. Pakistan has to pull up its socks and draw up a new strategy to fight terrorism. And this is not the job of military alone; it has to be fought at every front and form. HASSAN KHALID Multan Published in Daily Times, February 23rd 2018.