Daily Times

The recent outbreak of terror attacks across the country took more than a hundred lives, including a DIG and SSP, within 5 days. Despite prior warnings, terrorists were still able to wreak havoc.

The ineffaceable incidents are the cause of major dismay for the nation, a big question mark on the performance of security institutions as well as how efficacious NAP remained in combating terrorism.

Massive crackdowns were launched across the country, which killed hundreds of terrorists following the blasts. Moreover, Afghani officials were also asked to hand over 76 most wanted terrorists.

Earlier in 2015, military courts were established following the APS attack, to ensure speedy trial and conclusion of cases and it ensued proactively. However, the questions that remain unanswered are that why do we need to wait for losses of innocent lives to expedite our efforts in combating terrorism? Why our political arena seems reluctant to properly implement NAP?

In a retrospect, in the immediate aftermath of Soviet union’s invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan – with America’s support – launched Mujahideen and successfully forced the Soviet troops out of Afghanistan. But right after America’s invasion of Afghanistan following 9/11, we had to endorse Washington’s ‘war on terror’; which was ultimately the war against the Taliban. Due to the porous nature of border, Taliban sought refuge in the tribal belt of Pakistan, building their safe sanctuaries and organisingtheir resistance to the state. Owing to structural flaws in FATA, Taliban filled the gap by introducing the parallel judicial and security system. Thus, with the passage of time, their hold grew stronger.

There is a need to mention the role of ‘Operation Zarb-e-Azab’ which was launched in North Waziristan and Pakistan-Afghanistan border against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and several other militant groups. It successfully flushed out militants and weakened them. Though overall security situation improved in the country, with the decline in terror attacks, but tensions escalated again with the success of CPEC.

Religiously motivated terrorists are a major threat to Pakistan. The roots of them could be traced back to Khawarijs; who grew to prominence during the arbitration between Hazrat Amir Maviya (R.A) and Hazrat Ali (R.A), to decide the succession to the caliphate, following the battle of Siffin. Their extreme doctrine separated them from mainstream Muslims and adopted a radical approach to Takfir (declaring a Muslim as a non-Muslim). Khawarijs were the first extremist group who, because of their nefarious acts, were condemned by Islamic scholars of that time. In modern times, the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other extremist groups are referred to as ‘kharijitis’ for their extremist acts of committing Takfir and killing to whom they deem non-proper Muslim. Believers in that monolithic notion have always resisted any deviation from their belief and termed the person heretic who has differed in his point of view which, for sure it is clearly misinterpretation of Islam. Certainly, no religion promotes inhumanity and ruthlessness likewise Islam.

To combat the terrorism, there is need to eradicate this from its root cause. There is need to introduce a counter-narrative; the true essence of Islam which is based on pluralism and tolerance. We should adopt a pro-active and multi-pronged policy towards terrorism rather than be reacting at the time of incidents. As terrorism stems from extremism, so there is need to revamp the education system, scrutinizing seminaries under the supervision of religious scholars. Other reforms include; judicial and security system reforms, active foreign policy, constructive role of media, improved intelligence, and improvement in economic and financial conditions. Most importantly, spreading the true teachings of Islam, which promote unity, tolerance, and peace.