The urgency with which a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) has been summoned on the Army’s suggestion is rather inexplicable. No new information about Mumbai attacks was shared by the former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, in his latest interview. Similar concerns have been raised publicly by the former military dictator General Pervaiz Musharaff and senior officers in the civil service. That Jamaatud Dawa, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Haqqani Network are militant organisations are militant organisations and have been used as part of misplaced state policies in the past is also quite well known. Meanwhile, it needs to be stressed Pakistan has shown its concern in the matter and is prosecuting those linked to the attack. Legal complications may have delayed the trial but that doesn’t negate the fact that action has been initiated. Therefore, the urgency with which today’s meeting has been called needs to be reflective of a political will of the country’s leadership for course correction. The unfortunate and obvious truth is that the will has been lacking despite the many tragedies this country has endured. We said never again after the Army Public School (APS) attack in 2014. It is 2018. Former TTP man Ehsanullah Ehsan has been captured, but we have yet to see any progress towards dispensation of justice in the case. We launched several military operations and cleared territory of terrorist outfits, but militants’ presence has recently been reported from North Waziristan again. Besides, the displaced youth of the tribal areas are leading a historic civil rights movement at the moment. Against this backdrop, the meeting must review steps needed to dismantle the left over militant outfits and to prosecute the affiliates of these outfits who have been involved in unlawful and unconstitutional activities. The policy of mainstreaming must be revisited to ensure that it isn’t just another move to delay the task of cleaning our house of extremist forces. Ways must be deliberated to bring more transparency and openness in the way the country has fought against terrorism and militancy, meaning that the Parliament ought to be involved more proactively in these debates. Decisions along these lines alone will serve as steps forward in strengthening national security. At all cost, the country’s leadership must ensure that the meeting does not get reduced to another round of settling differences between the elected and unelected institutions. That will be an exercise in futility. * Published in Daily Times, May 14th 2018.