The PTI’s flawed anti-terror stance

The recent deadly events in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) vis a vis the DI Khan jailbreak have put the central and the provincial leadership of the ruling PTI into the spotlight. After a spate of unremitting attacks and inadequate response, the PTI leadership is under visible pressure to clarify, once and for all, its narrative on the war against terror. The PTI’s stance ever since it took over in the province has been a source of ambivalence and confusion amongst the operational arms of the law enforcement agencies, impacting on their ability to take on those who perpetrate recurrent attacks in K-P. There has been a sudden surge in the bloody violence, with the jailbreak in DI Khan tilting the balance in favour of the militants. Their operation had all the elements of a successful combat, from the launching of an effective onslaught to an exit strategy, with a sense of palpable ease. Despite the lead time available for a firm response, the militants were able to whisk away high value prisoners to the safe havens of North Waziristan, a place where predators attacks by the US irks us as a blatant violation of our sovereignty.

Terrorist attacks and suicide bombings in K-P are not a new phenomenon. The previous ANP government, throughout its tenure, faced the worst onslaught from terrorists. However, the ANP’s approach to dealing with the menace was very different. Its leadership fought it with clarity, and most valiantly, with even their parliamentarians sacrificing their lives. Bashir Bilour’s martyrdom is a case in point. The PTI leadership, which stood for change, has brought in only one change so far, and that is of being in denial mode about the war on terror. Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak, while speaking to the press on one occasion, had maintained that he had no problems with the Taliban and expressed his keenness on holding talks with them. This kind of mindset is now tampering with the resolve of the law enforcement agencies. The gross mishandling of the jailbreak is a living example and a blowback of such thinking — mixed signals from the province’s top leadership are not helping the forces on the ground in any way.

Imran Khan’s demand for a closed-door briefing on the matter is understandable, but what is hard to understand is exactly what is stopping him to come down hard on these elements, which are mowing innocent people with abandon throughout the province? The mantra of change will not set in well unless the political leadership displays a better understanding of this complex problem, with an actionable resolve to immobilise these forces. The leadership, so far, has been viewing the painful scenario through the prism of US drones attacks, which is rather an oversimplification of the issue. The overbearing US stance on drone attacks is to a degree responsible for a lack of consensus in the country as to how this war is to be handled. Having said that, it is now well-understood that drones, as a centrepiece of the war on terror, will continue to stay in the US armoury in different parts of the world, wherever there may be elements that threaten US interests. Based on this thumb rule, we need to remove the threat, which will then lead to drone attacks subsiding.
In Pakistan’s case, the question is why do drones continue to hit North Waziristan. Why is there no such reporting from other parts of the tribal areas? The answer is simple. The US strongly feels that the real and perceived threat emanates from North Waziristan alone. It is the same safe haven where the inmates who escaped from the DI Khan jail are basking in their freshly earned freedom. There is no likelihood that the Americans will reconsider their policy of drone attacks so long as they perceive that there is a threat that they face from Pakistan’s tribal areas. There is, however, a way out to neutralise the drone attacks. The question is whether we are prepared to opt for the alternative course in a bold manner. The issue of inviolability of our sovereignty can be addressed if we are willing and determined to take out these elements from their hideouts. This was what was done in Swat. The country's leadership, both civilian and military, needs to mull over this.
The DI Khan jailbreak has left many questions in its aftermath. Where did these elements get their cash and logistic support from? They were better armed, trained and knew about the sequence of the game they were playing, including effective deployment, manoeuvring and a well thought-out exit strategy. People want answers to these questions, which require a critique by the intelligence and the law enforcement agencies.
This also brings us closer to the issue of high security prisons. We have been into this war for over a decade and have been the recipients of a sizeable cash flow. It’s a pity that we have not been able to put up a single dedicated high security prison, which has all the required provisions according to international benchmarks to prevent both break-ins and escapes. This should now be high on the agenda of all provincial governments.

Our political leadership must seek greater and deeper clarity in the war against terror, which until now, has been the biggest casualty.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2013.

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