If anyone had any doubts, please know that their back is not broken. The Taliban will come at us with full force. If our security establishment thought otherwise, they should now be clear in what the Taliban want. The recent disclosures by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson, Ehsanullah Ehsan, in the eight-minute video release points to a well thought-out strategy; a larger pattern that may unfold in the pre-election environment. They plan to create panic and fear in the minds of the general public to prevent them from going to polling booths to cast their votes. The spelled out strategy of the Taliban is: “We will not allow elections to be held in Pakistan”. They will not target the day of election to strike but will cause mayhem in the run-up to them.
Will the doves in the security establishment, for whom security meant normalising relations with the Taliban and engaging in peace talks, now reconsider their position? If in the past, all the provocative actions of the Taliban had been responded to and merited consequence by our security establishment, would we even be considering them as a real and serious threat today to deprive us of our civil liberties? The security establishment, headed by a cautious leadership, has failed to deliver what was not only desirable but also possible. Dismantling and destroying the militant networks were what the world, led by the US, demanded from us. Dismantling and destroying their networks is what we still need to do.
The most obvious benefit of the cautious security establishment and its commitment was to avoid provoking the Taliban and reduce the risk of Taliban reprisal. I have said this before and I say this again that we need to re-assess our commitment to the security of Pakistan. The general perception in the public is that the Taliban are tough and they mean business, while those tasked to save, protect and guard the public, continue to avoid open-ended confrontation with them. This only makes our security forces look incompetent and unreliable.
In the rise-and-fall-together situation, the civilian government, as well as the military have both gifted us a resurgent Taliban force — a militant force that today, challenges not only the writ of the government but which operates across the length and breadth of the country uncontrolled and unrestrained. All this talk of democracy as revenge and the change of our social and economic conditions will be fruitless unless the creators of the “rise and fall together situation” do something urgently to change the security conditions in the country. It’s time that the army-led security establishment made some hard choices. It has the intelligence; all it needs to do is convert it into operations and conduct multiple raids through the special services group. We have some of the best trained commandos in the world and they are not poorly equipped, either. The night vision goggles, the laser aiming lights on their weapons, the global positioning systems can give them a dramatic edge to dominate and conduct result-oriented night operations. Only the army fully knows how underutilised this capable force has been and how badly it has missed the opportunity to rely on its ability to conduct hundreds of operations. The Taliban have not been given the treatment they deserve. I know for sure there will be many junior officers itching to hit back at these cowards, responsible for so many deaths of their comrades, as well as innocent civilians.
The politicians on their part will have to change their mindset in how they define the senior army officers as professionals. Not those from whom they don’t fear intervention in politics but those who take positions on crucial matters of security and then stand up and defend them as well. It is time for the hawks in our security establishment to come forward and for the military elite to put on some war paint. We have had enough of the cautious and guarded doves guiding and directing our security policies.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2013.
How can the right hand of a body wield a sword to cut off its left hand? Till the military / establishment continues to see the Taliban as ‘our boys’; there will be no action against them.
The Author is spot on.
There needs to be serious action by the security forces supported by the PM before Mian becomes the PM, that is if the elections are not put on hold. The greater the delay, harder it is going to be. Go after them with full spectrum of capabilities. But if the army still believe that the Taliban are still their ”remotely controlled’ boys, then a lot of violence is going to engulf Pakistan for many years. Poor people will have to face a life of fear and oppression.
That’s arguably the best article I have come across which is free from any mumbo jumbo or double speak and is refreshingly forthright in intent.
Those who say we have been fighting these monsters for more than 10 years without success and therefore need to give negotiations a chance are stupid or plain apologists. The fact is we have never ever tried to go after them across all fronts and with full might of the state. The majority of politicians and other opinion makers still do not consider them enemy of the state.
In fact until recently the majority refused to believe that such abominable acts of terrorism can be conducted by any Muslim and conveniently blamed RAW/CIA agents while TTP was shouting from rooftops claiming responsibility.
If they are indeed previous strategic assets, it only makes the task of security agencies that much easier. A dog who so ever faithful previously need to be shot if it turns against its owners.
I agree with the narrative. Hawks definitely not the doves should lead. Catch the bull by the horns before it is too late. Good piece.
Yes we must go after them. Its too late already.
@3rdRockFromTheSun: They don’t. Welcome to 5 years ago
I do not think there are any doubts but designs. The designs of anti Pakistan forces and people.
The auther has touched the sensitive but need of the hour issue. Our security establishment must look for reality and stop assuming it as left hand.
Well, Taliban are a disease you ignore at your own peril. They only grow.
Last time such a disease took root in India, the infected part was cut off. That infected part has now grown into an organism and the cancerous cells are within it.
If one were to combat the Taliban, there is only one to do it- make them bleed and in turn bleed. If you truly believe Taliban supporters are in the minority and will remain so, then its your best bet.
If you had done this 10 years ago, the whole world would have supported you guys. Alas, you let go of that golden opportunity and now are suffering.
Hard hitting and must cause some shivers up the spine of the leadership that heads our security establishment.
Peace or dialouge was never the way forward.We must act.I agree with the author.
@ author “dismantling and destroying their network we still beed to do”. I absolutely agree.
Could’nt be better defined than the mindset of the Author. Security establishment must go after them with full might, day and night regardless of who is in Government. Well done Mr Author. Keep flashing.
Shabkhez
Hard hitting, brilliant & to the point.We have done nothing as a state to defeat the growing threat.”The rise and fall together situation” is explicitly correct and the very reason the people suffer.
@Saad Mengal:
{Peace or dialogue was never the way forward.}
I have been crying my self hoarse on various blogs that we simply cannot negotiate with them. I have begged and pleaded from all doves or apologists to at least define a broad agenda / framework of peace negotiations. I said lets offer them every thing under the sun in lieu of disarming and letting us live in peace without threat of bombing / slaughtering in the name of Islam. Predictably, I never got a single comment / response.
Coming back to author’s comment i.e
{I know for sure there will be many junior officers itching to hit back at these cowards, responsible for so many deaths of their comrades, as well as innocent civilians}
I am sure no Army in the world can tolerate slaughtering of its fellow comrades as posted on you tube. The young officers must be saluted for their sheer discipline and professionalism but we must not push them to the wall. I fully trust the special commandos of Pak ARMY to do the job if given green signal.
Editor ET: Why do you persistently rejecting my comment. Its not fair to a regular contributor.
Can special forces manage the way it is spelled out. Probably difficult. Real question is the intelligence failure in these rouge areas. How many have been made acceptable for such failures. zero%. First a system needs to be restored in these areas. Malik system has lost it’s relevance now. A new mechanism based on ground realities need to be formulated which will allow for the intelligence to be comprehensive which shall guarantee success to the special forces.