Our soldiers need our moral support. After all they are doing it for us; they don't have personal gains attached.
RAWALPINDI: Over the last few months, we have been witnessing a drama that is not new to us anymore — negotiations with the militants and giving peace a chance. As always, our government fell prey to their tactics. All this time, the TTP was buying time to regroup and strengthen whilst the government was still hoping for a positive outcome of the so-called peace talks. In a matter of a few days, Pakistan suffered brutal blows. An attack on a military vehicle in Fatah Jang claimed the lives of two senior army personnel and several civilians, an attack in Taftan claimed the precious lives of 23 Shia pilgrims, an attack on Karachi airport claimed several innocent lives — all of these incidents indicated one thing: that it was time to make a decision. For the longest time I wondered why the government was holding back from taking a decisive decision against these anti-state elements.
Finally, amid all the chaos and uncertainty, the Pakistan Army took a brave and strong initiative with the consent of the government of Pakistan and announced a full-fledged military operation against militants in North Waziristan Agency, which was definitely a much needed move. It’s time to put an end to the brutal massacre of our people by targeting those who attack the state and its civilians. The army should be given unshaking, unwavering support to launch the operation so that those who are baying for the civilians’ blood finally meet their end.
There are, however, quite a few negatives attached to the operation. It has been reported that these militant organisations have set up their sleeper cells in major cities. It is now expected that these cells would become activated. Since these havens do not operate independently and require assistance and finances from the masterminds, it is imperative to target the masterminds first who are based in the tribal areas. But then, a big blow to the key figures would end up in major retaliations in urban centres. But such retaliations may be easy to deal with once the key militant leaders are done away with.
But there are positives attached to the operation too. First and foremost, it would rid the country of terrorists and would elevate us to a position of strength. I believe that it’s time political parties stopped crying hoarse in favour of these militants and calling these operations ‘suicidal’. Now is the time to show our love and support for the armed forces. These men of honour have proved their mettle in the past and would still do the job well. Our soldiers need our moral support. After all they are doing it for us; they do not have any personal gains attached to this. Those who are always arguing about the military budget should realise that shedding blood for the homeland is not an easy job. So when you are calculating the ‘major chunk of budget’ the army gets, do not forget to calculate the number of our soldiers slain in recent years. I salute these brave sons of the soil and wish them all the best. Long live Pakistan Army!
Ammara Abbasi
Published in The Express Tribune, June 17th, 2014.
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