Attack on check post

State institutions owe public an accounting of accepting drones and need to take ownership of war against militancy.

The killing of 31 people by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) at a check post in Lakki Marwat is sure to reignite the same old debate about root causes of militancy. The TTP claimed the attack was carried out in retaliation for a drone attack in North Waziristan, which killed two of its commanders. There is absolutely no reason to take the TTP at face value. Such attacks on check posts are a commonplace militant tactic, used to try and grab territory and spread fear and chaos among the ranks of the military. If we are to accept that this particular attack can be traced back to the use of drones, how are we to explain the hundreds of other such attacks over the last few years? The fact is that the TTP is at war with the state and so it continually attacks it. The presence or absence of drones does not change that dynamic in any way.

We have to accept that drones are a reality in Pakistan for the time being. The outgoing US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, said in a recent interview that targeted killings through drone attacks are a vital part of US national security. His possible replacement, Chuck Hagel, is a less hawkish figure but there is a bipartisan consensus in the US that drone attacks are an accurate method of killing militants. That is not going to change any time soon. Our state institutions have essentially made peace with this, but have done so, away from the public view. They owe us a public accounting of this decision and need to take ownership of the war against militancy.

The brave soldiers who die nearly every day fighting the Taliban, whether at check posts or on the battlefield, are owed an explanation by the government and the military. The difference between public rhetoric and private reality needs to be reconciled. Until we do that, it will be hard for us to take ownership of this war. The US needs to be seen as an ally working in concert with our government, not a rogue nation violating our sovereignty. Until then, the TTP will be able to continuously exploit public opinion for its own benefit.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2013.