Carnage in Lahore

The terrorists have struck again, this time in Lahore. Last month they targeted a market in Parachinar killing some three dozen people, smashing the myth that following extensive anti-terrorism campaigns they are on the run. They may have run away from some places, but not from everywhere. Central Punjab seems to be emerging as the new battlefield. What happened on The Mall on Monday evening was a suicide explosion and responsibility for the attack was instantly claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The NACTA had warned police of a possible suicide attack, but when and where the option was with the terrorists. What more could be an easier target for them than a rally joined by hundreds of protesting pharmacists and druggists in front of the Punjab Assembly. Whatever could be done to secure the event that appears to have been in place, but a determined suicide-bomber is simply unstoppable. Among the victims in the Lahore attack were six policemen, including two senior police officers. Plausibly, but for the Aaj News DSNG van which bore the brunt of the attack there would have been many more casualties. One may say the attack was a plan aimed at aborting PSL final in Lahore. But as to the whys and wherefores of the terrorism entities' scheming not much is in the knowledge of concerned quarters. Somehow in the war on terrorism in Pakistan the focus remains on security, how to secure a government building or a public rally, unlike other countries where gathering intelligence on terrorist outfits gets more attention. True, there was the warning that some terrorists have entered Lahore. But as to where they could be hiding and who was their host not much seems to have been looked into.
By now we should have learnt that fighting terrorism is a whole time challenge, and this got to be fought on all three fronts - public, political and government. The fact, however, is that while the security forces are doing their job as efficiently as humanly possible on the other two fronts not much is in evidence to suggest that they too are fully committed and inclined to engage terrorists in a do or die fight. If the tribal areas are today clear of terrorist hideouts and if they are on the run in Karachi, it is essentially because of the security forces. In Lahore too, the police paid a heavy price because it was on the spot in the line of duty. But a matching response is missing on the other two fronts. Isn't it because of half-hearted political approach that military courts have not been revived yet and the National Action Plan falls much short of its implementation? The political parties have yet to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to the terrorist outfits because in some cases, terrorist outfits fit into their strategic mindsets and sometimes act as their proxies. That public is an inescapable target of terrorism is a fact. But it needs to be informed of its role in stemming the tide of terrorism - just as the protesters should have realized that their rally could be targeted by terrorists. Given the enormous cost in terms of life and limb that terrorism exacts from the common man there is the need to educate the public in some basics of security of its environs. For this, the government may launch special media campaigns. What happened on The Mall in Lahore on Monday is indeed very tragic, but let it serve as the wakeup call with a message that battle against terrorism is not yet over and that we need to be extra smart to fight it out.