TERRORISM needs to be dealt with on the military, intelligence and legal fronts. However, while the government has had mixed results on the battlefield and in using intelligence to thwart potential attacks, it is on the legal front where it has been found most wanting. An example of its muddled priorities is that until recently a special prosecutor hired to pursue several high-profile cases in Rawalpindi’s anti-terrorism courts had not been paid for his services. Resultantly, around 25 cases — including those involving the attacks on the United Nations World Food Programme office and the Naval Complex in Islamabad — had been lying idle for a year, with the prosecutor focusing on his private practice. Though the funds have now reportedly been cleared, it is appalling that such important cases should be held up because of bureaucratic ineptitude. With bigger obstacles standing in the way of the successful prosecution of terrorists — such as a paralytic law-enforcement and legal system, and the intimidation of witnesses — the fact that cases are stalled because lawyers don’t get paid shows lack of seriousness on the part of the state.

While our entire legal system suffers from malaise, there should be a sense of urgency when it comes to prosecuting suspected terrorists. Instead, suspects often walk free, not because it has been conclusively proved that they are innocent, but due to poor investigation techniques and timid prosecution efforts. Once acquitted, many resume their activities. Simply targeting hideouts in the tribal belt or elsewhere is not enough to defeat militancy. Terrorist networks must be dismantled and their masterminds brought to justice. Only an effective legal system can do this. Sadly, incidents such as this are reminders that pursuing the legal battle against militancy is not among the state’s priorities.