An elite force Sub-Inspector (SI) and five others, including an alleged militant, one woman and three children, were killed on Thursday during a police raid at a residence in Rawalpindi, believed to be housing a suspect involved in the attack on former Punjab home minister Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada. As law enforcement personnel entered the house, the militant along with his wife opened fire and hurled grenades at them. The alleged terrorist, Mustafa and his wife had been living in the house as tenants since 2014 and their neighbours had complained to police about their suspicious activities in the past as well. In September, the Counter-Terrorism Department had announced the arrest of a suspected facilitator of the attack on Khanzada, Qasim Muavia.A CTD source said Muavia was a member of the Qari Sohail Group and had been on the ‘most wanted list’ of the CTD for his alleged involvement in target killings in the Attock district. What actually happened may never emerge because the law-enforcement and intelligence agencies tend to keep the details of such raids to themselves. There is an ongoing debate about how far ‘collateral damage’ can be prevented. But the fact remains that some more planning and care can help avert the loss of innocent lives, especially when it is being claimed that an operation is being conducted on the basis of foolproof intelligence. One big purpose of intelligence is to isolate the suspects as far as possible before they are approached. With the fight against terrorism and militancy likely to expand to the more populated urban and semi-urban areas of Punjab, the chances of greater collateral damage must be minimised by adhering to the old rule about isolation and strike. This is a very sensitive topic and there is a cogent argument for pursuing militants aggressively and speedily. However, since allegations of a force overreaching itself in the heat of the moment are common, it will also be in the interest of fair and clean operations that the planners tread with caution.
pk.shafaqna.com
