There were all sorts of symbolism involved in the Bannu firing, in which at least one person was killed in firing upon a rally. It was a peace march which was fired upon, as if to show how ordinary people were at risk when all they wanted was a peaceful life. The peace march was sponsored by the local shopkeepers, as if to show that the ordinary citizen, who wanted only to get on with his life, needs peace to be able to pursue a livelihood. More dangerously, the firing took place when the march was making an unscheduled turn towards Bannu Cantonment, as if to symbolise the uneasy relationship between the people and their defenders. More powerfully, the firing came out of apparently nowhere, genuinely terrorising the marchers, not symbolising it, showing how terrorists have cowed the ordinary citizen, and how it is the government’s responsibility to provide the security of person and property that will lead to a more peaceable atmosphere, where people can gwet on with their lives.
So far, it seems that the administration has made no effective response. Sacking a few officials will achieve nothing in the face of an implacable enemy. Bannu is almost at the epicentre of the unrest which has taken hold of KP, and the civil division includes one of the old Waziristan tribal areas. It has been subjected to more than one terrorist attack, and Bannu Cantonment itself was subjected to an attack on Monday morning in which eight soldiers were martyred. The ISPR is on record as saying that the attack was carried vout by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, which operates from havens in Afghanistan.
Under these circumstances, arguing against Azm-i-Istehkam seems not just churlish but wrongheaded. The PTI provincial government may wish to avoid any sort of operation because it might involve uncovering secrets it would prefer were left uncovered. The military may prefer the operation not taking place, because after all, its personnel will risk their lives in its course, and the federal government has got similar objections. However, the problem will not go away if it is ignored. The nettle will have to be grasped, no matter what the cost. The Bannu marchers had it right; the region needs peace. The rest of the country needs to support that because it is their problem too. The terror, the violence, the deaths will not remain limited to that region, but will engulf the whole country if not stemmed now.
