More terror!

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It seems there is no respite from terror. The back-to-back attacks, explosions and suicide missions across the strife-torn provinces of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa suggest that non-state actors are extremely proactive, while the state is still mulling to come up with a befitting response.

Notwithstanding the brave sacrifices of the law-enforcement agencies, the need of the hour is a coordinated political and military response to the expanding mosaic of terror. A suicide attack on FC convoy in Noshki, killing three FC personnel, and wayward attacks on police stations in Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur are nerve-shattering.

At least six terror attacks across both the provinces in less than 24 hours, and days after the Jaffar Express tragedy, is a grim reminder that our anti-terror response is lacking, and there is much that needs to be done in real time. The momentum of unscrupulous elements is existential in essence, and the nation has to rise collectively to deter the degeneration of society into an abyss of lawlessness, death and destruction.

The fact that to this day the thrust has been on kinetic response has failed to bear fruit. A glance at the chequered social fabric hints at deep-rooted grievances simmering across the length and breadth of K-P and Balochistan, and non-representation of masses is at the root of all ills.

The terror specter is twin dimensional and, thus, necessitates a response, accordingly. First is the foreign hands, and their well-cultivated abettors in society in the form of BLA, TTP and other outfits. Second is the soaring unrest in society which provokes the disgruntled elements to distance themselves from the fractured and ill-conceived policies of the government, which has not been able to devolve power to the grassroots level.

This is where terror breeds and infects all and sundry. Only a coordinated political response with the engagement of the popular leadership and involvement of aggrieved elements that are willing to work under the domains of law and the Constitution is the way out. The sooner it is opted for, the better.