Anza Kanwal
It is needless to emphasize that terrorism is the gravest and the most formidable challenge facing the country at the moment which requires impregnable resolve and commitment by the government, security forces, law enforcing agencies, politicians, religious scholars and the masses so that the terrorist entities do not succeed in their nefarious designs to harm the country. This war has to be fought against the internal enemies of the country both physically and ideologically by developing a counter narrative to the dogma that the terrorists are preaching and trying to implement as well as the external players who are sponsoring and abetting terrorism in Pakistan. In fact it is the external dimension to terrorism that makes it quite difficult to effectively deal with it. There is also an imperative need for the people, media and other stakeholders to understand that the phenomenon of terrorism cannot be eliminated in a short span of time as there is no quick-fix solution available to tackle it. The nation might have to brace for continuation of such attacks till the time the last vestige of the terrorists is taken out and the machinations of the foreign forces are neutralized.
In this regard Pakistan Army launched Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad across the country. Radd-ul-Fasaad which translates to ‘elimination of discord’ will aim at indiscriminately eliminating the “residual/latent threat of terrorism”, consolidating the gains made in other military operations, and further ensuring the security of Pakistan’s borders. Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Civil Armed Forces (CAF) and other security and law enforcing agencies (LEAs) will actively participate in and ‘intimately support’ the armed forces’ efforts to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country. It was in the backdrop of the recent terrorist attacks and the available intelligence with the government and the security agencies that a vigorous country wide crackdown against the terrorists, their supporters and facilitators was launched and training camps of the terrorists on the Afghan soil along the border were pounded to scuttle their ability to resort to retaliatory attacks within Pakistan. Moreover, the situation in Pakistan on the internal front is indeed very convoluted and tricky. The Jihadi and militant culture which was encouraged and allowed to penetrate the social fabric for well over three decades, is now well entrenched. The terrorist outfits now fighting against the state have emerged from the womb of those jihadi and militant organizations and undoubtedly have a widespread following and support for their narrative in the country. That is why it is important to deal with the phenomenon ideologically by developing a counter narrative to their dogma which will entail a long term effort on the part of the government and all segments of the society, particularly the media and religious leaders.
It is pertinent to mention that Operation Radd-ul-Fasad has been announced as a continuation of the National Action Plan (NAP), the ISPR said in its notification. NAP had been formulated after the devastating attack on Army Public School Peshawar in December 2014. As part of the plan, military courts were established to fast-track terrorism cases. Intelligence-based operations across the country were initiated to disrupt and destroy terror networks in urban and rural areas. The plan had also laid an emphasis on curtailing terror financing. NAP had also promised to take action against seminaries involved in militancy, but the government had dithered on bringing them under control, apparently for fear of backlash from religious parties as well as militants. The plan further envisaged countering hate speech and extremist material through the powers vested in the provincial police and other authorities. PEMRA and other regulatory authorities were tasked with checking and banning glorification of terrorism and militant groups through print and electronic media. The drafting of the Electronic Media Code of Conduct was also a positive step. The provinces were further instructed under NAP to raise a counter-terrorism force under a dedicated command structure.
Before this operation Zarb-e-Azb has been launched successfully which accentuated positive effect on Pakistan’s security, stability and progress. The mega project of $ 42 billion CPEC was initiated after satisfactory security situation in Pakistan. With defeating terrorism, the Pakistan Armed Forces have gifted the nation with the peace that guarantees prosperity under CPEC. It has not only paved the way for a promising future but has also restored the confidence of a nation that was shattered by the terror waves during these two decades. With the output of the operation praised worldwide, all the strategic stakeholders in the region should now be left with little doubt about the sheer sincerity of Pakistan in fighting the menace of terrorism.
Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad has been a ray of hope after all the turmoil taking place in the country. The government has taken serious initiatives in handling only some of the problems mentioned in the NAP. However, there is still a long way to go as all the ministries are not functioning efficiently; the officials are not interested and proper methodical game-plan is not designed. It’s about time the government starts working on the aspects that are not covered, otherwise like many others, the NAP will also be another failure in the history of Pakistan.
