Daily Times

It may sound little bit surprising if Pakistan declares its victory in war on extremism, which it launched over a decade ago.

The speed in which the government is making arrests and seizing assets of proscribed organisations, its success against terrorism appears to be in a matter of months, if not weeks. We may term this forecast a matter of crude joke, butmust keep this imposing reality in our minds: we are living in odd times – strategic milieu is fluid and alliances are shifting very fast.

Pakistan has kicked off the next phase of its National Action Plan (NAP) which remained in doldrums since it was initiated in 2015.

A recent meeting of theNational Security Committee (NSC), the civil-miliary leadership resolved to contain extremism with more vigor.

Itwas followed by a blanket ban onJaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) and its facilities.Moreover, its key members, including Masood Azhar’s son, were nabbed for implementing NAP in letter and spirit.

India’s aggressive posture and the state’s desire for peace are ‘helping’ the government to implement a matter, which was on the backburner owing to inaction of the previous Punjab government.

It was Punjab where jihadi networks had spread out in the 1980s which then developed a strong presence.

If religiosity becomes the mark of national identity and is tagged with electioneering process, extremism becomes a natural occurrence in state affairs

The Pulwama attack and hysterical reaction from India, culminating intoBalakot airstrikes, has provided an impetus to the-powers-that-be to take the war against extremists to its logical end by laying hand on Punjab.

All this has been done by Pakistan in line with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Order 2019 that requires seizure of assets belonging to proscribed outfits.

Is Pakistan passing over to practical stage? Alternatively, have we, finally,found geographical grounds to be on our feet? Is it the fluid strategic milieu that has shaken our belief in ideology or we have attained the age when one can see around with clear eyes?

The state has to find a way forward following the survival instinct. That Pakistan is in the final phase to not only disown but also curb militancy, which it has been utilising for political gains in the past.The world around us is not ready to tolerate such a policy anymore. So,weare out of deep slumber and are going to shed what has become a liability after the end of Cold War.

If we think academically, militancy has to do a lot with inequalities in our socio-economic structure and the constitution that creates a room for the ethno-religious clans,of which militant organisations are by-products. If religiosity becomes the mark of national identity and is tagged with electioneering process,extremism becomes a natural occurrence in state affairs.

That the constitution of 1973 shakes up three distinct, rather odd, ideologies (religion, socialism and liberalism) and it, consequently, makes the state lose its direction. How we conceive sovereignty in the light of the constitution that gives birth to religiously inspired nationalism? It has consequences for our national security.

Of course, ideological frontiers cost much, and the calculating rich are not going tocome up and bear the burden. They invest in political parties that are neither democratic nor theypursue pro-people agenda. Their rise and disappearancedepend on their utility for the system, consciously designed by colonial powers centuries ago.

The governance structure that extracts from commoners and extends privileges to morally corrupt strata of population controlling 90 percent wealth yielding only 2% to national kitty -only 5% of budget is spent on provision of basic necessities of people.

Last but not the least, there is a mind-boggling question, and a long-held excuse for not acting against extremists: Is there any chance of backlash from bigots? Not, at all. Humbling extremists has never been impossible. Only the resolve to do this was missing. And this resolve came after the fall of PML-N in the last general elections!

The writer is an Islamabad-based columnist