With the PTI government focused fully on punishing its political opponents, the threats to internal security are on the rise. This can be gauged from the number of terrorist attacks that have taken place within a few weeks of the New Year. The attack on a police checkpost in Islamabad showed that the terrorists had developed the capacity to launch attacks in the heart of the country. This was followed by the attack in Lahore’s Anarkali Bazaar which rudely awakened the investigators to the Buzdar government’s neglect of safe city cameras. Between Wednesday and Thursday night terrorists attacked the Hangu oil field, killing the security official and abducting a supervisor. On Thursday 10 soldiers lost lives in a terrorist attack on a checkpost in Balochistan’s Kech district. On Friday four people died in a land mine blast in Dera Bugti. The country seems to be reverting to the pre-Zarbe Azb era.
While in the Opposition, Prime Minister Imran Khan was the foremost critic of operations against the TTP terrorists. Despite TTP’s renunciation of the idea of a nation-state, its rejection of the Constitution and replacement of the constitutional judiciary with Sharia courts in Swat, the TTP enjoyed the support of the PTI chief who demanded that the terrorist network be allowed to open offices in Pakistan. The infatuation continued even after assuming the office of PM. The attacks by the TTP have exposed the bankruptcy of those having a soft corner for the network. The hope that Taliban’s victory would lead to the reining in of the TTP has turned out to be a pipe-dream. There is a need to take on the TTP instead of holding talks with it.
The Baloch insurgency is a self-imposed calamity. Over-confident of the military’s prowess, General Musarraf refused to resolve differences with Nawab Akbar Bugti through talks, preferring instead to take him out. It was claimed that protests would be confined to no more than a couple of districts and would be brought under control in no time. The resulting widespread unrest provided an opportunity to Pakistan’s enemies to exploit it. Halfhearted attempts made by the PML(N) government to resolve the issue through talks were foiled by those who matter. As long as acts of terrorism continue, the CPEC would continue to face problems.
