A new wave of militancy

The terrorist activities of banned outfits are on the rise in the tribal district of North Waziristan from the past few months. Tree separate incidents happened in this merged district on Saturday. In Garum area of Tehsil Dosali on officer Captain Sabih and Sepoy Naveed army embraced martyrdom in a clash with terrorists. In second encounter between security forces and terrorists in Mirali Tehsil, two soldiers Sepoy Muhammad Zarif and Zaheer were wounded. The third incident of terror occurred in the same Tehsil, where a vehicle of security forces came under bomb attack. In statement on these occurrences of terrorism, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that India does not want peace in the region and in Afghanistan. The statement says that BJP government is under pressure from opposition after the defeat of Indian forces in Ladakh and ensuing standoff with China. It can activate terrorist sleepers’ cells to divert the attention from the debacle in Galwam valley in eastern Ladah. In this area 20 Indian soldiers, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese forces a week ago. Over the past three months militants have become active in the tribal district of North Waziristan by attacking security forces and doing target killings of tribal notables. On the first day of Eidul Fitar, unidentified motorcycle riders opened fire in Mirali Subdivision of North Wazirisitan, killing a senior civil servant of Information group Zubaidullah Khan and two other tribesmen, identified as Farmanullah and Namatullah. They were returning after saying Eid Prayer. The deceased belonged to Dawar Tribe. Keeping in view the fencing along Pak-Afghan border and its strict management, the theory of presence militants’ sleeper cells will gain currency, to the activation of which the Foreign Minister has made a categorical reference. A well-coordinated combing operation shall be needed to wipe out these cells. The new wave of terrorism necessitates implementation of National Action Plan in letter and spirit. Notwithstanding their beautifully worded occasional statements in support of this plan, the political leadership has shown reluctance to give ownership to it, putting implementation of certain very important points on the backburner. No legislation has been done by the parliament to reform criminal justice system. The counterterrorism watchdog, National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), under which joint intelligence directorate was conceived to be formed, has not been made fully functional. It is no longer a secret that NACTA is not getting a fair deal in budgetary allocations. The last PML-N government did urge Ulema to build a narrative to counter extremism and militancy. However, it did not take the initiative by itself to build and promote it. The statement of the Foreign Minister provides food for thought for the leadership of political parties, who wants to destabilise the government, ignoring the fluid situation in the region. After the exit of BNP-Mengal, Jamhor-i-Wattan Party has also parted ways with the government.