Daily Times

The suicide attack in Jamrud, which killed four and injured dozens others, is a warning sign that the fight against terrorism is far from over. Jamrud, located near the Afghan border, is in the Khyber Agency and has been a site of anti-militant campaigns in the ongoing military operation. Immediately after the attack, both the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliated group Lashkar-e-Islam claimed responsibility and called it a revenge for the government operations against them. The attack occurred outside a government compound, with the bomber reportedly failing to gain entry, thereby allowing the alleged intended target (that is, the resident political agent) to remain unharmed. Whether or not one considers that a victory for and proof of competence of the security arrangements, the fact is that lives were still lost in a blatant attack on a government institution in an area which has been claimed to have been rid of militants. The fact that elements of militancy can still launch attacks despite being under a full-scale offensive and outnumbered by a much better equipped military in areas where control has been presumed to have been wrested from their hands suggests that it is premature to contend that the back of the extremists has been broken.

The reason to withhold any jubilant celebrations about “mission accomplished” lies in the nature of the conflict, which is essentially a guerilla war and history informs us that fights like this by their very nature are going to be protracted. The military may be facing a mismatched opponent in terms of the weaponry and capacity for conventional fighting, but the extremists have the advantage of being familiar with the treacherous and maze-like territory. The Shawal Valley of North Waziristan and its neighbouring territories that the air force is bombing is a difficult area to hold, and militant elements can utilise the forested mountain cover to escape to other Agencies or even across the border. The pattern seems to be the classic guerilla tactic: retreat when under attack and attack when the opponent’s guard is down, and arguably we witnessed this facet play out in Jamrud today. It is becoming worryingly evident that Pakistan’s counterterrorist architecture is still not sound or cohesive enough. The enemy is loosely structured and elusive, and it cannot be defeated without a consolidation of database and resources of different agencies, which are instead prone to jealously guard their own intel. While the feared and expected blowback against the operation has still not transpired in the major cities yet, this latest attack should serve as an eye-opener that the terrorists are not down and out but have the capacity to regroup. Complacency will not do. Constant vigilance is the necessary price to achieve victory. *