Militancy has reared its unwelcome head once more in the former tribal areas and surrounding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Six police officers and two soldiers were killed by militants in separate attacks on Wednesday, the officers in the Lakki Marwat area and the soldiers near the Pak-Afghan border. According to reports, the attackers used sophisticated weapons, and security personnel had little time to respond. Because this is a mountainous area, the attackers could easily flee to their hiding places.
A comprehensive strategy is required to combat the country’s rising militancy and terror. This is especially important now that it appears that the TTP has successfully regrouped in the country. Whether this is due to their belief that they have natural allies across the border or to a porous border situation that allows them to easily avoid detection by Pakistani security, it is time to ensure long-term peace and harmony in the region through a multipronged strategy that must include a change in the way we combat terrorism. We also need to reassess our police force’s resources and training, as well as how vigilant our agencies are in anticipating such attacks. The TTP’s ability to strike at will in recent months, particularly near bordering regions, should worry our foreign ministry as well. Perhaps some diplomatic outreach on border patrolling would also be beneficial.
More than anything else, the people of the affected regions are suffering the most as a result of the renewed militancy. Protests have recently taken place in Waziristan and Swat, calling for peace and a return to normalcy so that people can live ordinary lives and not be subjected to the terror that protesters claim they are once again subjected to.
The recent spate of attacks has only heightened people’s fears of a larger threat emerging in these areas. This is why local residents must be involved in security efforts through community policing mechanisms. Thousands of our brave soldiers and police officers have already given their lives to keep the country safe. The determination remains, but it appears that determination alone will not be enough to eliminate terrorism unless everyone in the country takes ownership of the fight against terrorism.
The lesson from the 1980s and 1990s should have been that turning a blind eye to militant groups is not a sustainable policy. It is time to put this lesson into practise and listen to the people of the areas where militancy appears to be on the rise. They have already given up their homes and families in the name of the “war on terror.” The majority of those displaced by military operations in former tribal areas have now returned home; they cannot be expected to withstand another onslaught from an unforgiving adversary.
