Unrelenting Terror Spree

Today, Pakistan is afflicted with terror. Terror assaults are happening on Pakistani soil with fury and ferocity. The message from the terror outfits is loud and clear. Repeated terror strikes have exposed chinks in the armour of the Pakistani establishment. The security and intelligence agencies are demoralized and frustrated, with the successive deadly strikes proving devastatingly fatal.

The last week of February saw a lethal suicide bombing terror attack in the Darul Uloom Haqqania Madrassa, killing its head of institution, Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani. The madrassa, which was the prime target, is located in Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. This madrassa is well known for having educated a series of Taliban leaders, imparting theological teachings to them. It is also pertinent to mention that the slain madrassa Maulana’s father, Samiul Haq Haqqani, was also murdered in 2018. It is a well-known seminary where hundreds of students are lodged free of cost, given religious education, and provided with clothing and other basic needs.

As this madrassa is known to have links between the Haqqanis and the Taliban leadership, it is strongly believed that this act of terror was carried out by the Islamic State (IS), which often leaves its footprint with deadly terror assaults in KP as well as in parts of Afghanistan. This appears to be an attempt to register its presence and send a signal that IS is not yet finished and is still alive and kicking.

However, the Nowshera terror attack is not the only one that has happened recently. On March 4 in Bannu, at the heart of the Military Cantonment, two explosive-laden cars were driven in and detonated, causing deaths and injuries to many. The security forces retaliated, neutralizing the terrorists. This was a particularly daring terror act suspected to have been carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has intermittently attacked Pakistan’s military infrastructure and other strategic sites with huge ferocity. Significantly, these terror attacks were carried out during Ramadan, a holy month of fasting and prayers for adherents of Islam. The deaths of innocents due to such perilous suicide missions show the determination and resolve of the terrorists, who have scant respect for religion, ignoring the timing and religious sensitivities.

Such acts have become routine, and notably, there are fewer condemnations by the international community or religious clerics, which further emboldens terrorists to act with more impunity in the absence of any moral accountability or criticism.

For its part, the Pakistani military is rattled by this deadly breach of security, targeting the very heart of a military setup where physical security is considered foolproof and watertight. There is ample pressure on the army to take radical action to rein in the recurring terror attacks. Pressure is also mounting on the military to tone up its intelligence apparatus and prevent such recurrences. Someday, IS and the TTP may strike the highest security zones, breaching safeguards and shaking confidence in the highly trained security system. Such lapses have also unnerved the civilian population, who frequently question Pakistan’s fledgling political leadership, arguing that their security is more endangered than ever. They believe it is high time the government took action to ensure their safety and instil a sense of security. However, that does not seem to be happening anytime soon, as the situation remains far from being under control.

Under the ongoing circumstances, it is pertinent to point out that in Pakistan, nearly 1,600 people died in terror attacks last year. These statistics are confirmed by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Islamabad. Also, coincidentally, there was a similarly deadly terror attack in Bannu in July last year. Obviously, lessons were not learned from the previous attack, and the terrorists struck again in less than a year, knowing that the security agencies were still in inertia and were yet to wake up and meet the security challenges. In February alone, nearly a hundred lives were lost in terror attacks. This time, a terror outfit called Jaish al-Fursan has claimed responsibility for the attacks. This group is linked to the Pakistani Taliban.

Meanwhile, security experts in Pakistan have called for joint cooperation between the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan and the government of Pakistan to collaborate and contain terror in KP. The growing differences between both sides across the Durand Line are well known, often leading even to aerial attacks on the bordering areas. Experts further recommend sinking these differences as a tactical measure and focusing on intelligence sharing, primarily to stop IS and the TTP from continuing their terror strikes. However, any breakthrough in this regard looks distant, at least as of now.

Many security and counter-terror analysts, in the meantime, reckon that Pakistan should adopt a political approach to bring the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the TTP on board through negotiations to establish peace. They have illustrated their arguments by citing the breakthrough achieved by the Ma government recently in bringing the Kurds under control following a political settlement with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). In Pakistan, however, such an initiative looks implausible due to rigidity, deep-seated ideological differences, and clinical hatred between adversaries who are baying for blood at every opportune moment. This is evident from the fact that they continue to perpetrate deadly terror acts, overlooking the religious significance of Ramadan and spilling blood by attacking religious seminaries and even the ‘safest’ of high-profile security installations.

If this conflict zone in the vicinity of Afghanistan and Pakistan is allowed to escalate with recurring terror activities, it is likely to have a cascading effect in other parts of Pakistan, threatening to engulf and encourage other terror groups to sustain their fight against the state. This would multiply security challenges further, making the region more combustible than before. The task seems tough.

The writer is a retired IPS officer, Adviser NatStrat, and a former National Security Advisor in Mauritius. Views expressed are personal