THE road to internal security disasters is paved with false assumptions that terrorists can be appeased or coaxed into accepting peace.

The conurbations in Karachi, Fata’s treacherous mountains and the vast Baloch hinterland have turned into lawless bastions of crime, terrorism and insurgency. Peshawar and Quetta have witnessed unprecedented bloodshed. Citizens wear expressions of fear and despondency while the state looks confused and weak.

A frivolous debate about martyrdom status for a most-wanted fugitive or the men in khaki killed in the line of duty shows the moral hollowness of some holy cows.

Let’s address the issue of political will. The federal and provincial governments, with the mandate to restore peace, are giving a mixed message of hope and despair. Some initial steps by the prime minister indeed promised positive change. He chose as interior minister a man known for his integrity and drive. Somewhat temperamental, he means business. He chose a police chief for Islamabad known for his professionalism.

Meanwhile, the prime minister appointed a similarly capable individual as head of the intelligence bureau. This means that the bureau, previously notorious for its political wheeling and dealing, should no longer be a tool in the hands of political masters. The results came immediately with the arrest of suspected target killers in Karachi nabbed on the exclusive intelligence lead provided by the IB.

Karachi, sometimes called the crime capital of Asia, soon caught the attention of the business-savvy prime minister. It’s to the credit of both the federal and provincial governments that they were on the same page and started an operation against the crime mafia with links to political parties.

While political support for the operation was mustered through a cabinet meeting in Karachi, the real meeting took place behind closed doors. The prime minister was alone with the inspector general of police Sindh and the director general of Rangers. They were reportedly promised no political interference in their administrative and operational areas and also provided full support from the IB and ISI.

A professional deputy inspector general known for his courage and impartiality was selected to head the Karachi police. Thus started the police and Rangers’ joint operation. More than 4,000 criminals have so far been arrested. The real test lies ahead. Can the police and Rangers successfully have the criminals prosecuted, armed as they are with the draconian Protection of Pakistan Act, the Pakistani version of the US Patriot Act?

With hope on the horizon in Karachi, let us venture into an area that borders on despair and desperation.

The Pak-Afghan border, especially Fata, is a safe haven for international militant groups as well as Pakistani militants under the brand name of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). When Baitullah Mehsud masterminded attacks on our defence installations, including GHQ, an American drone targeted him to the satisfaction of the security establishment and the public.

When Mullah Fazlullah challenged the writ of the state and tried to establish a parallel emirate in Swat, the army, with full public support, launched a ruthless operation that drove him across the border from where he continues his murderous forays inside Pakistan.

But instead of adopting a dual-track strategy of talk and fight, all political parties decided in September to give ‘peace a chance’. While the TTP continued its ruthless assaults against innocent civilians and security personnel, the federal government and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa pursued their single-track mantra of peace talks, even at the cost of being perceived as custodians of a weak state.

If the prime minister could not get categorical assurances from the US president regarding the suspension of drone strikes during peace parleys and especially after the US envoy had clearly informed the interior minister that the TTP chief would be hit come what may, then the government was in no position to formally initiate peace talks, knowing that a single drone strike could derail the process.

Where was Plan B? I hope there is one now that the talks have been ‘sabotaged’ (before starting) and the government had “to pick up the pieces” in the face of what the interior minister called “broken paths”.

Peshawar in particular and KP in general have continued to face the Taliban’s wrath after the PTI-led government took over. Many officers and men of the Frontier Corps and police have laid down their lives fighting terror and TTP tyranny.

Under these trying circumstances, the morale of the law enforcement agencies — particularly the police — is of vital significance. While the government has appointed a professional as the provincial police chief, it is crucial that there is no interference in administrative matters and he has operational autonomy to tackle the menace of terror.

The plan to raise a new counterterrorism force, enhance the capacity of the investigative branch and establish a forensic science lab requires financial support from the federal and provincial governments. The police chief has also introduced an institutional mechanism to create a pool of police station house officers who qualify to be in charge of local policing units.

Any political interference in these initiatives will reflect adversely on the governance paradigm in KP. Hopefully, the chief minister will focus on boosting the morale of the beleaguered police force.

Balochistan continues to be stuck in a quagmire created by the security and intelligence agencies. A well-meaning chief minister requires the support of the federal government, including its security establishment, to give him a free hand and resources to tackle insurgency and bring dissidents into the mainstream. He needs to focus on creating a unified criminal justice system across the province by gradually converting more than 90pc of B areas under the Levies to A areas under the police.

Meanwhile, the Punjab province has a chief executive who accepts challenges with determination. One hopes he is prepared to fight the TTP and its affiliates who may soon, God forbid, knock on his door.

The writer is a retired police officer.