The late-night attack on the Sarband police station on the outskirts of Peshawar served as evidence of the fact that TTP militants are becoming more daring. The plant, which is near to the Khyber tribal district, came under attack from several extremists.
Three police officers, including a DSP, were killed in the attack despite their valiant efforts to repel the insurgents and pursue them, as was reported. Too many law enforcement officers have lost their lives recently defending the public from TTP extremists whose attacks are become more and more well-planned and deadly.
Following a siege of the Bannu CTD centre last month during which TTP members detained there held law enforcement officers hostage, SSG commandos had to be sent in to maintain order. The alarming reality is that the terrorists are following through on their threat to attack security officers. Whereas prior attacks were concentrated in the province’s rural areas, the militants are now feeling confident enough to launch strikes directly in the provincial capital.
Diverse governmental agencies must work together to form a tight-knit group and eliminate the terrorist danger. Unfortunately, political discord is harming efforts to combat terrorism and unnecessarily endangering the lives of security personnel. The federal interior minister made fun of the chief minister of KP after the Peshawar incident, claiming that he was “more concerned on dissolving the assembly.”
The administration and the opposition must both understand that their quest for control is negatively harming the counterterrorism effort and that now is not the time for political squabbles. Prioritizing the terrorist threat right away is necessary to prevent the extremists from gaining more confidence and mounting a more extensive attack on the nation.
To make this happen, the military, the provinces, and the federal government must all work together. The contrary is, regrettably, true. Security must come first in KP and Balochistan, the two regions most vulnerable to the terrorist threat.
Then, kinetic action and operations based on intelligence must be used to wipe out the extremist infrastructure throughout Pakistan. If we ignore this existential threat, a ruthless foe will take advantage of our mistakes and show no mercy. It’s time for the nation’s political elite to take better advice.
