Daily Times

Pain is a strange thing. Sometimes it hinders our ability to function, forcing us to completely shut down, while on other occasions it can lead to new revelations that allow us to address the root causes. Pain being a two-edged knife that cuts both ways, there is always the temptation to just forget about it all, to shun it completely from memory. But forgetting is not an option for some and the only way they can handle the pain is by confronting it in every moment. But no matter how effectively we can or cannot handle pain, there is no denying that pain, especially of the traumatic kind, affects behaviour in tangible ways.

This traumatic pain is what we experienced as a nation in the aftermath of what happened on December 16 last year. As the children in the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar were getting ready to go about their daily routine on that fateful day, fanatics bent on causing pain and destruction stormed the premises, killing hundreds of innocents and maiming the rest. It felt unreal at the time and its surreal nature has not subsided one bit since then. Tomorrow, as we mark a year of loss and grief over the martyrs of APS Peshawar, the pain still pricks just as strongly as it did a year ago. But while there may be no way for the affected families to recover from their losses, a lot of effort has been put into reforming the way we tackle militancy and extremism post-APS.

On the military front, the army’s resolve in either eliminating or corralling out the violent Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups remains unwearied. The military operation in North Waziristan, launched shortly after the APS attack, has been strategic in its use of force in key hideouts, to the point where the ability of terrorists to target at will has been severely hindered. Combined with the military operation has been the push by the security forces in urban areas like Karachi to dismantle the channels of crime and corruption. Complaints about aggrandisement notwithstanding, the urban operation also has been successful in contributing to the significant reduction of fear and terror in the lives of residents.

On the civilian front too, there have been many changes since last December. The comprehensive National Action Plan (NAP) that was drafted in the wake of the Peshawar incident last year has seen some of its vision being implemented, even though full implementation remains a distant dream. Here too there are complaints about the over-zealous nature of legislation that casts unnecessarily wide nets that can be used for entrapment, but the point that tackling terrorism has at last made its way to the top of the national agenda remains.

Such changes have impacted not only on our way of life but also on the way the country is being run. There is now an increased asymmetry in the power balance between the military and the elected government, with the incumbent civilian setup being all too happy to cede authority just to stay in power. Perhaps aggregating such disproportionate authority in a single institution was the need of the hour but it certainly was no excuse for the PML-N government to shirk its responsibility towards the country’s governance.

In the past few weeks, there have been reports of a rift emerging between the military brass and civilian decision-makers precisely on the lack of NAP’s implementation. After spending much money, exerting much effort and losing many lives in the battle against militancy, the military establishment is dismayed by the lack of concern shown by the government. It is true that in their effort to dismantle networks of terror, the security forces have stepped beyond their mandate on a number of occasions but in the absence of a strong civilian setup that can hinder that, it was only inevitable.

Additionally, on the regional front, our relations with India and Afghanistan have significantly deteriorated compared to just a few months ago when there was an actual opening for the countries to come together and tackle the issue of militancy. However, corruption, lack of credible commitment as well as ulterior motives got in the way before any progress could be made. Today, Pakistan stands alone in its quest for survival as others look away and refuse to accept the pan-regional nature of the issue.

However, the civil-military divide and regional animosities notwithstanding, we have seen a drastic reduction in the number of terror-related attacks on Pakistani soil. But even though the urban centres in Sindh and Punjab have been spared, militants are still striking in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan where the state’s ability to monitor suspicious activity remains less developed.

Though this may be cause for some relief, there is another horrific possibility that we need to confront: that of Islamic State (IS) spreading its reign of terror in the region. Chaudhry Nisar, the man seemingly in charge of the country’s security, is adamant that the notorious IS does not have a presence in the country but there is plenty of evidence to negate his claims. Not only have there been pamphlets circulating that bear IS’ mark, several groups — including mainstream establishments like the Lal Mosque in Islamabad — have openly avowed support for the hate-fueled ideology of IS.

Furthermore, the rapid decline of the west’s ability to maintain its strongholds in the Middle East has only contributed towards strengthening IS’ hand. IS now claims sovereignty over vast territories in Iraq and Syria, and as their recent campaign of global terror has shown, they grow more and more lethal with each passing day. But the real tragedy is that there are no easy military or even political solutions to this menace. For now, all we can really hope to do is make sure that the next generation of adults have much more tolerance imbued in them so that they can resist the ideology of violence that the followers of IS propagate.

With this backdrop in mind, tomorrow we once again mourn over the lives lost in Peshawar last year; it would serve us well to feel the pinch we felt at the time and re-affirm our resolve towards eradicating the horrors of extremism, hate and militancy from our midst. Whether or not we can ever live free of fear is a big question to which frankly no one knows the answer but as we step into the future the least we can do is not repeat the mistakes of our past.

The author is a freelance columnist with degrees in political science and international relations