Hina Butt
The dreariness of December reopens the heart-wrenching wounds of the second deadliest attack in the country’s history. With more than 148 people killed, mostly children, as the war-hardened militants decided to barge into a bustling school and open fire on innocent students, APS Peshawar has become an unforgettable nightmare etched fresh in the memories of all Pakistani men and women.
However, the prime minister of the time, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif realised the gravity of what had befallen his nation. Bomb blasts and terrorist attacks should never be allowed to become part and parcel of daily life, but a debilitating killing spree that is determined to spare no one–man, woman, young, old–was on its way to leaving a sovereign country paralysed. There had come a time when nearly everyone walking on the streets had either lost a loved one or tasted a close brush with death themselves.
No economy could withstand the uncertainty of when what could land on the bloodied radar. It was with this resolve that Mian Sb had decided to jump to the front line and deploy all that he had to establish normalcy in the country. A true patriot of peace, he gave absolute support to Pakistan Army that launched a full-scale decisive strike to wipe out terrorist hotbeds in North Waziristan Agency. Had it not been for the successes of Zarb-e-Azb, wherein the state had ramped up security operations and hit the militants on the ground as well as from the skies, the bloodlust was ready to engulf all of Pakistan. Official estimates believe that more than four thousand members of the Pakistan Taliban were killed in these operations. Mian Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslim League (N) transformed the security narrative from victims to triumphant warriors. But the agonising memories are here to stay and the bloodstains have been engraved on our hearts. Every tear, every shriek and every last breath of someone whose life was snatched away would continue to haunt all of us, every step of the way.
Given the successes of the valiant efforts of our soldiers on the battlefield and the political elite behind the curtains, Pakistan should have long been able to shut the doors on terrorism and become far stabler and calmer than eight years earlier. Sadly, the gross display of misplaced priorities that had reigned supreme ever since 2018 managed to offset all the previous gains. Zarb-e-Azb had succeeded in eradicating bases within Pakistani territory. Despite being handed a very stable situation wherein the prominent commanders had been eliminated and their networks and logistics removed, Imran Khana managed to reawaken the enemy.
Even if the dialogue was pursued as an official policy, why wasn’t constant surveillance carried out to ensure no rehabilitation could take place? It is only the confidence in the capabilities of a premier that allows other institutions to take daring plunges. The last four years have shown how toddler tantrums do nothing but spread chaos in all quarters. The equilibrium has once again been reset and the scanty vestigial presence that had been pushed to the fringes of eastern Afghanistan has roared back as a terrifying serpent.
Terrorism has, for the millionth time, become a heated buzzword with reports of attacks on military checkposts or civilian targets hitting the headlines every day. The scale of the damages may be small for now but the designs intend to take the entire country hostage. This is something that has fallen upon the shoulders of Chote Mian Sb. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif would, once again, put all of his might and muscle to restore peace. There’s no denying the unmatchable sacrifices of our armed forces but they still need the support of a strong, sovereign and sane civilian leadership. Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir has very firmly pledged to not let anyone “disrupt the hard-earned gains of war against terror.” His unrelenting resolve echoes with just as tenacity in Islamabad. Together, all branches of state would inshaAllah strike at the heart of those who wish to spread fear to all corners of Pakistan. We did it before. We will do it once again.
