The words Lal Masjid evoke revulsion among many here, shocking evidence of the growth of militancy and the state’s complicity in nurturing that threat in recent decades. But Lal Masjid also evokes a fierce anger against the state among a small group of people who believe that a ‘house of God’ was attacked in Operation Silence in July 2007 and that many ‘innocent’ people were killed by the armed forces. Born of that rage is a small but deadly militant group known as the Ghazi Force, named after the dead Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the infamous deputy imam of the Lal Masjid, which is bent on seeking vengeance against the state. Led by one Fidaullah until his arrest in May, the group was blamed for a series of attacks against security targets in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The group fell off the terror radar after that, but, according to a report in this newspaper yesterday, is believed to be involved in the recent surge in violence in Islamabad and Rawalpindi under the tutelage of a new commander, Niaz Raheem. Not much is known about the Ghazi Force, but at least two things are worth bearing in mind. One, as a relatively new outfit, it has an incentive to ‘establish’ itself with a series of audacious and deadly attacks. Two, Lal Masjid’s sectarian, anti-Shia leanings are well known, which means that the Ghazi Force could easily forge an alliance with a range of groups operating inside Pakistan which share a similar outlook, groups that include Al-Qaeda, Jaish-i-Mohammad and the Ilyas Kashmiri network.

What can the state do to fight groups such as the Ghazi Force, which may consist of no more than a few dozen highly trained and indoctrinated members bent on killing and maiming? Better intelligence, more surveillance and improved policing. That’s what got Fidaullah, the under-arrest leader of the Ghazi Force, in the first place — leads provided by other detained suspects that eventually led to his capture by law-enforcement personnel in Islamabad. But there is also a role for the ordinary citizen, too: stay alert, watch the goings-on in your neighbourhood, report any suspicious activity. By no means are we suggesting neighbour turn against neighbour or converting the country into one big web of spies, but these are extraordinary days and the state’s capacity to deal with the terrorism threat is still well below adequate. So the citizenry should help, responsibly, where it can.