THE recent attack on the navy dockyard should not come as a surprise if the attack was carried out by personnel inside the navy. As seen previously, the attacks on military bases were carried out with the help of insiders. Even during Mushraff’s tenure scores of junior air force officers were arrested for plotting to kill him.

What is worrying is the fact that even after so many attacks our armed forces have not been able to eradicate the terrorism brewing inside our forces and pinpoint the reasons due to which so many officers go rogue.

The recent operation will go a long way in eliminating militant safe havens across the Afghan border. But it will not rid us of the splinter cells that have mushroomed. To change the mindset of people who have been indoctrinated with hate for numerous years will take something special.

What is more alarming is the fact that IS-related material was doing the rounds in Peshawar and other places. With the confused state of mind of many people, who are unsure till now about whether it is our war, these radical outfits have a lot of room to work on potential recruits.

There is an urgent need to have a national debate on the kind of system this country needs to adopt and shun away all myths of the ‘khilafat’ system that people might have. With the recent rise in sectarian violence, it is clear to see that we need a system where religion is a private affair rather than a public affair. With so many sects and minorities there, we need to have a system which is able to provide rights to one and all.

For all this, democracy is the way forward where we can reach consensus across the board.

Usman Mansur

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, September 15th , 2014