AS three separate incidents in different parts of the country showed on Friday, despite continuing military and law-enforcement operations in the northwest of the country and Karachi, the militant menace is far from defeated. If anything, these attacks show that extremist fighters are lying low and waiting for opportune moments to hit back at the state and society. In the first incident, four Rangers’ personnel were gunned down in the Ittehad Town locality of Karachi outside a mosque they were reportedly guarding during Friday prayers. Meanwhile, in the KP town of Charsadda, two traffic policemen were killed in what police officials have dubbed a targeted attack believed to be linked to militants. In the third incident, two workers of a media house were injured when the offices of the organisation came under grenade attack in Faisalabad. Punjab counterterrorism officials had issued a warning that extremists linked to the militant Islamic State group would attack media houses in Lahore, as well as army and police targets elsewhere in Punjab. On the other hand, police officials in Karachi believe fighters from the banned TTP’s Swat chapter may be involved in the attack on the Rangers. The group has maintained an on-again, off-again presence in the Sindh capital, and appears to have struck when it found the ‘right’ moment. The Rangers have led the law-enforcement operation in Karachi that was launched in September 2013 and which has largely zeroed in on religiously as well as politically motivated militants, along with other violent criminals.

Due to advance intelligence, security around media houses in Lahore had been tightened, which is possibly why the attackers turned their attention to Faisalabad. The lesson, then, from Friday’s incidents is that actionable intelligence can be critical in pre-empting or raising defences against terrorist attacks. Therefore, the military and civilian intelligence and security apparatus need to keep an ear to the ground to intercept militant communications in order to thwart future attacks. Moreover, the momentum against militant outfits must be sustained as these groups are far from neutralised. An important element in defanging militant groups in the long run — apart from dismantling their infrastructure and ability to organise — is to prosecute those elements in society who are unabashed cheerleaders of violent religious militancy in Pakistan. The clerics of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, who have again resumed their activities, are a prime example of this breed of militant sympathisers.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2015