Daily Times

The suicide attack on a Shi’a mosque on Friday, which killed at least 57 people and injured more than 200 (some very seriously), proves beyond a doubt that fears that the country was descending into another war with TTP (Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan) have now come true. Hardly a few days pass without news of TTP or its new separatist allies in Balochistan picking off security personnel in IED (improvised explosive device) attacks and ambushes up and down the country. And now, the enemy has gone back to one of the tactics that typified its offensive against the state last time, before it had to be crushed by successive military operations; that is, suicide attacks on minorities, mostly the Shi’a, often during prayers and religious processions.

The state’s reaction so far, regrettably, has left a little something to be desired. Not only has it not moved fast, or forcefully, enough to neutralise TTP’s high command as well as foot soldiers holed up in Afghanistan, it has also leaned towards negotiations with an enemy that has killed upwards of 80,000 men, women and children in the past and continues to do so in the present. The decision to talk didn’t make much sense, not just because of TTP’s record and proven agenda, but also because there was never anything in their demands that the state could, or should, even consider wasting its time over.

Now, as increasing terrorism once again puts the peace, people’s lives as well as the economy at risk, the government is expected to change its approach to this situation. It must convey to Kabul in very straight terms that the Taliban’s promise of not letting TTP use Afghan soil for attacks on other countries is not working to our liking, to say the very least. It does not make much sense that Islamabad is lobbying for Kabul all over the world, yet it’s unable to get the Taliban to address our most basic security concerns. This is, after all, not just a diplomatic tangle. It is being paid for in blood and tears by the ordinary people of Pakistan, who have already paid far too much and for far too long in this currency.

The state must put its foot down and replace its usual condemnations and vows of rooting out terrorism after each attack with concrete actions that will prevent them in future. *