Opinion Defender offended,again

Dawn’s editorial on August 17 asked: “That only one security personnel was killed as opposed to nine dead militants is only a small consolation: …how were militants able to yet again infiltrate a high-security armed services’ base and engage security forces inside for many hours? Given that some kind of military operation in North Waziristan against at least the Pakistan-centric militants is in the offing,the possibility of pre-emptive strikes by the militants is high. Had the warning of a blowback only been made at the policy level without it filtering down to the security forces likely to be in the cross-hairs of the militants?”

The government’s response was celebratory this time,in contrast to their shock after the earlier ones. The Express Tribune quoted Defence Minister Naveed Qamar on August 16: “The security of the air force was alert to retaliate in case of a possible attack and they did… They (terrorists) had suicide vests… and were carrying heavy weaponry… However,with minimum damage caused to the base — with only one plane destroyed — the security forces were able to eliminate the terrorists.”

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan,an avowed opponent of the US and its military involvement in Pakistan and Afghanistan,used this opportunity to make his presence felt. The News,on August 17,quoted Khan as saying incidents like this were bound to occur when countries jumped into others’ wars,adding that “once in power,PTI would quit the US war and ensure that every asset and citizen of Pakistan was protected.”

ROOT CAUSE?

A DEBATE is on for weeks on a reportedly imminent joint military operation with US forces in FATA’s North Waziristan Agency. The military’s six-month-long operation in South Waziristan Agency has reportedly brought the defiant tribals back under Pakistan’s control but has left them fuming over the loss of power and control. This is being claimed as a probable reason for the PAF Minhas attack. Imran Khan,a self-styled champion of the tribal people,has been a vociferous opponent of this plan. The Express Tribune,on August 17,carried a statement issued by the army: “Kayani clarified Pakistan’s position in response to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement of July 3… in which she talked of ‘coordinated actions against terrorists who threaten Pakistan and the region’… The statement said,‘coordinated action’ implies the Pakistan army and ISAF conduct operations on (their) respective sides of the Pak-Afghan border. For such actions,intelligence sharing is the mainstay of mutual cooperation. Contrarily,a ‘joint operation’ implies the two forces are physically employed jointly on either side of the border. A ‘joint operation’ in this sense is unacceptable to the people and the armed forces of Pakistan,hence,[this has always been our clearly stated red line.’ Kayani reiterated that Pakistan might undertake operations in North Waziristan determined by the political and military requirements but it will never be a result of any ‘outside pressure’.”

SHIAS UNDER FIRE

THIS was just the latest in several attacks on Pakistan’s Shias this year. Daily Times reported on August 17 that extremists dressed as armymen opened fire on passengers on a bus,after stopping it and checking their ID cards near Mansehra in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on August 18,killing 20. TTP has claimed responsibility for this attack too. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement condemning the sectarian violence.