The National Security Committee of Parliament came together to discuss the Jaffar Express hijacking, but did not come up with any concrete proposals. Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir, while briefing the committee, said that Pakistan should become ‘a hard state’, by which he meant one which did not present any ‘soft targets’, one in which there was better governance. However, while that might squeeze out further recruits to the cause of separatism, it did not necessarily help the immediate problem, which was what could be done to stop terrorism. Much of the post-meeting debate was on the refusal of the PTI to attend the meeting. PTI Chairman Gohar said that this was done on the instructions of party founder Imran Khan. KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur did attend along with other CMs, as the meeting grew beyond strictly members of Parliament.
The meeting did not provide the clear lead the nation expected from it. Even the absence of the PTI failed to connect any dots, because while the PTI showed that it still viewed domestic politics as more important than the threat facing the nation, and at this juncture, it was using even the threat posed by terrorism to try and expand the space provided to Mr Khan. While this message may have been reprehensible, it did not indicate how Mr Khan was expected to make or mar the situation. The government’s are against Mr Khan notwithstanding, it did not seem that it had much to offer beyond call for unity. There was no indication of what the government planned, beyond saying the nation stood shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces and the law enforcing agencies in the war against terrorism, which was a hint that a military operation could be carried out.
It is an unfortunate reality that behind every terrorist willing to commit such a crime as hijacking a train, there have to be thousands who feel that he has a point, even if he is using the wrong method. Though it seemed that the committee realized this, it did not seem to have any real idea of how to end this. While not suggesting that throwing money at the problem is going to solve it, it is essential that more money is put up to help remove some of the feeling of alienation within Balochistan. While military operations are necessary, it is also necessary to remove the reasons for alienation, not to stop terrorism, but as a matter of justice.
