In an intelligence based operation, security forces foiled a ‘foreign sponsored gang’s’ terror bid to sabotage Independence Day celebrations in Karachi. “Some high-value targets, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Swat chapter Naib Amir in Karachi, Bakhat Zaman, have been apprehended,” the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. “According to details, the gang had been planning an attack for some time and had prepared an explosive laden vehicle and a motorcycle which they were to use on Youm-e-Azadi,” the statement added. Following interrogation, the terrorists confessed that the vehicles were arranged in Karachi and were to be operated by suicide bombers from Afghanistan. Members of the TTP had also traveled to Afghanistan for a similar purpose, officials said. It is unusual for ISPR to release information about an intelligence-based operation. Perhaps the purpose of the statement was to boost the morale of the people and military personnel on the eve of Independence Day. This news comes as COAS General Raheel Sharif has announced, once again, that operation Zarb-e-Azb is in its final stages. It is undeniable that the frequency and number of terrorist attacks in the country have gone down and that the military’s crackdown on militants is yielding results. The statement referred to the apprehended terrorists as a “foreign-sponsored gang”. Yet, the TTP is very much a home-grown organisation. Even if the state did not directly contribute to its formation, it has to take some responsibility for allowing the group to emerge and carry out terrorist attacks all these years. Nevertheless, the best counterterrorism approach is for Pakistan to let go of the spectres of the past and look to the future. After watching their country being torn apart and scores of their fellow citizens die at the hands of terrorists for so many years, the people of Pakistan must surely be relieved that the army seems to have a handle on the situation. However, our battle with terrorism is far from over. Given the growing extremist propaganda in the world, if the security forces completely withdraw from the areas susceptible to militancy, new terrorist groups could emerge. It is not inconceivable that Islamic State could begin to sponsor terror attacks in Pakistan. The army will have to maintain a presence in FATA and regularly patrol the border areas after the counterinsurgency operations are over. The intelligence agencies will have to continue to gather information on criminal and terrorist activities in the country and share that information with the security forces to prevent the resurgence of terrorist groups in the country.
pk.shafaqna.com
