THE nation has suffered and borne the brunt of the destruction wrought by the militants. Thus the military operation was inevitable to restore peace. However, a military operation alone is not a long-term or ultimate solution to militancy and terrorism in Pakistan. We must stop extremists from preaching their ideology if we want to end militancy permanently.

The country needs a national strategy to counter militancy, a legislative overhaul, improved coordination to counter terrorism and a coherent narrative against extremism. The elected civilian leadership must build its capacity on security matters and find the political will to act.

Naheed Ahmed Mirani
Larkana

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2014