ABDULLAH MUSTAFVI
Recent wave of terrorist attacks have partially succeeded in breaking the deep sleep of our holy rulers and few top executives. It will not be more than an act of changing posture at bed in later part of the night. Anyways, congrats to the nation for the forceful assurances made by the so many ‘His Highness’ and ‘ Me Lords’. Famous ‘ Iron hand’ is all set to crush the necks of terrorists even if they seek refuge across the border. Fortunately, this time PM has turned really furious over abhorrent acts of terrorism and ordered the forces to eliminate all the terrorists hiding anywhere in the world. Need not to think hypothetically. He actually desires elimination of terrorists hiding in Afghanistan. It is also obvious that such instructions or orders are meant for the Armed Forces. Civil law enforcing agencies usually stand exempted. Well, if you are disturbed over this exemption and consider it irrational then surely it is a positive sign about your mental fitness but at the same time reflects poor comprehension of ground realities on your part. This exemption from discharge of duties has many interesting dimensions. Let’s take a look at police which is always ill trained, ill equipped and otherwise sick of public expectations as well as criticism. Fighting out battle hardened fully equipped terrorists is not possible without requisite resources, so, inaction on part of police is understandable. Is’nt it funny that a complainant usually provides stationary for lodging his complain at police station whereas rest of the refreshment accessories are also inclusive and differ according to the taste of the police station staff. We appreciate the spirit of authorities that with all such resource constraints they always stand fast after every attack and reassure the nation to tackle the culprits with’ Iron hand’. Nation is also indebted for timely provision of information regarding weight of explosive and recovery of attacker’s head. Another problem with police is shortage of manpower. While facing acute shortage, a major chunk of force is employed on highly sensitive task of VIPs and VVIPs protection. So very less is left for the least sensitive tasks like public security. Performance of police on VIPs security tasks remains flawless. Improvement in training and provision of recourses is the job of provincial government. A major cause of recent attacks was the poor output and ill preparedness of police which substantially facilitated the terrorists in flawless execution. One outcome is obvious that capacity building and resource allocation for public safety stands nowhere in government’s priority list. We hear too much about Indian diplomatic aggression on Pakistan with reference to cross border terrorism. It is hard to find any worthwhile response from our side. Pakistan is facing a complex diplomatic challenge at regional canvas. Dealing with USA, India, Afghanistan, Russia, Iran and China is really a serious affair. Chalking out a balanced policy is one of the prime responsibilities of the federal government. Surprisingly, a need for regular foreign minister could not be felt so far. Whole vigor and spark of the government is revolving around panama case. Apparently, cabinet members and advisors are being judged upon verbosity against political rivals. Change of this efficiency yard stick has rapidly spoiled the image of politicians. Those who claimed for revival of democratic norms, in total denial of past bitter military rules, have not yet delivered any good to the system. Security matters have been left exclusively on military establishment which is already shouldering extra burden of civil sector’s inefficiency. Capacity building of law enforcing agencies, rehashing of diplomatic response and transparency in governance should fall at top of the priority list. Unfortunately, government is not ready to keep these issues even
at the last serials. It is a fit case of wrong priorities and masses should opt to electoral accountability in next polls. Political leadership responsible for setting and pursuing wrong priorities in a critical phase of war against terror should be made answerable through democratic means. Probably, it is the most befitting option available in the hands of powerless masses which if missed would cost more precious lives. Opposition should approach the public court and charge the government for pursuing wrong priorities detrimental to stability and public safety.
