The recent attack on Bacha Khan University in Pakistan is a chilling reminder of the gruesome attack on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, in December 2014, where 150 students and staff members were brutally killed by the militants. In the recent incident, the militants killed 21 students and wounded 50 others. The attack took place at around 9:30 a.m., when the militants, taking advantage of the dense winter fog, scaled the rear wall of the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda. Timely action by the law-enforcement agencies helped neutralize the militants, who could have killed more innocent students.
This dastardly act is, in fact, a reaction against the military operation launched by the government of Pakistan, which has helped marginalize the militants to a large extent by dismantling their bases, network and supply chains. It was due to this operation that acts of terrorism committed in 2015 were the lowest in a decade. At present, the militant outfits are in total disarray and lack a central command. Their capacity to act in unison has been neutralized. Inter- and intra-group cooperation and coordination has been badly affected. This is evident from the fact that the act was claimed by a Taliban faction and disclaimed by the umbrella group branding itself as un-Islamic.
However, with the recent spike in violence in Pakistan after a year of relative peace, some serious concerns were raised about the efficacy of the operation. No doubt this is a serious matter of concern. However, we need to understand that 100-percent success against the militants is not yet possible, as this will take a much longer time and a greater collective effort by the international community. The militants, no doubt, are down but not out. Their ability to launch acts of terrorism has been checked, but they still have the capacity to attack soft targets, like schools. In fact, taking advantage of the hilly terrain of the border area, they have managed to disperse and move over to the other side of the border. This has affected the capacity of our security forces to target the militants and check their activities across the border.
Initial reports show strong evidence the recent incident was planned in Afghanistan. Investigations into the incident are, however, underway and we have to wait for the result. In fact, no one country, even a superpower, can single-handedly check the militants’ activities as they have multiple sources. Hence, a collective effort is required to effectively check the militant groups.
As stated earlier, the militants are on the run and are facing a lot of difficulty in reorganizing themselves. Hence, they are looking for soft targets. Educational institutions are easy targets. In the recent incident, too, the militants selected an institution in the outskirts of the city and took advantage of the thick winter fog to scale through the rear wall of the university unnoticed. Thankfully, timely action by the security agencies averted a greater tragedy.
The reason they target children is to inflict maximum pain on the populace and weaken their resolve to fight the menace of terrorism. However, no matter how they try, be it the targeting of Malala Yousufzai—a young girl of 18 years—or the massacre in the army school in December 2014, the militants have utterly failed to achieve their objectives. Their dastardly acts failed to weaken the resolve of the people and government to fight this menace. Their dastardly acts only served to strengthen the resolve of the people and the government, and an all-out operation was launched against them. This latest incident was another desperate attempt to weaken the people’s resolve.
The militants have failed to realize the ground realities and have failed to gauge the resilience of the Pakistani people who cannot be cowed by such acts, gruesome as they may be. This is evident from the fact that after the latest incident, except for the Bacha Khan University, no other educational institution was closed. The provincial education minister said “militants want them shut down. We wanted to send the message that education institutions will continue.” Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in a statement, vowed a ruthless response to the militants.
In its fight against terrorism, Pakistan has lost 6,000 members of its security forces and more than 20,000 civilians between 2003 and 2015. This is much more than the loss suffered by Isaf forces in its war in Afghanistan. The material damage is estimated to be more than $67 billion. No other country has suffered as much as Pakistan from international terrorism. The price, no doubt, is huge. However, without sacrifice nothing can be achieved. And we are ready to make this sacrifice for the greater good of the world.
The menace from militancy has assumed a contagion proportion. This is no doubt huge and can only be effectively tackled with closer coordination among the international community. It is spreading its tentacles to other regions of the world. The rise of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is now posing a major challenge. No country can claim to be immune from its threat. Hence, there is no time for complacency. Those who think that by supporting such forces against others they will keep it away are living in a fool’s paradise. Militants are nobody’s friends. They have a cause, to attain which they won’t hesitate to target their well-wishers if need be. They are not governed by any rules, morals or ethics. We need to understand that terrorism has no religion, color or creed. The militants, who call themselves Islamic, have wreaked more havoc in Muslim countries than elsewhere. So, all this is not for Islam. It is the gross misuse of the name of Islam—a religion of peace, no doubt.
The best and only option is for the international community to join hands against this menace with the view to dismantle their network, supply chain and reduce the space for them, so that such elements cannot flourish and ultimately die their natural death. Without the realization of this collective responsibility, nothing substantial can be achieved. Militancy thrives on chaos and confusion, take advantage of the socioeconomic and political discrepancies, among others. Hence, we need to deny this space. While tackling terrorism, the international community will not only have to adopt a multipronged strategy, which would not only include force but also redressal of socioeconomic and political discrepancies in society—both individually and collectively.