Whether the bravado is contrived or based on genuine strength is perhaps immaterial at this stage. The hard, cold fact is that the new TTP leadership based in South Waziristan appears to be intact and, on the face of it at least, unified in its resolve to battle the state. The re-emergence on Monday of Tehrik-i-Taliban chief Hakeemullah Mehsud came as a major embarrassment for the interior ministry which was claiming that he had been killed in intra-Taliban fighting.

What’s more, he was flanked by none other than Waliur Rehman Mehsud, the man ostensibly responsible for his death. On Monday, Hakeemullah vowed to exact revenge for the killing of his predecessor Baitullah Mehsud. He moreover pledged allegiance to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar and was accompanied by a sectarian hate-monger who is also wanted in connection with an attack on the US consulate in Karachi. This triumvirate of sorts should send a clear signal to the security establishment: there can be no differentiating between good and bad Taliban. They are one and the same, on both sides of the Durand Line. Militant sectarian outfits in Pakistan are also part of the Taliban–Al Qaeda nexus now and must not be spared in the ongoing crackdown.

An army of suicide bombers was waiting for orders, Hakeemullah warned, adding that the TTP had become stronger, not weaker, in the post-Baitullah period. This may not be true but such claims cannot be dismissed either given the intelligence black hole that is South Waziristan. A truer picture can emerge only when the military moves towards Mehsud strongholds and takes on the enemy in its own backyard. A ground offensive is said to be imminent and battle lines have been drawn on both sides. The Mehsud Taliban, backed by their Uzbek allies, are expected to fight to the last man and they also enjoy the advantage of home turf in a terrain that can be baffling for outsiders. Yet they can be no let-up on the part of the security forces. Hakeemullah Mehsud may talk big but it is clear that the Taliban are on the back foot. This is the time for a decisive assault.

That said, the country must brace itself for more violence in the streets even if the state enjoys the upper hand in the theatre of war. Responsibility for Monday’s suicide bombing in Islamabad has been claimed by the TTP, and more attacks can be expected if the Mehsud militants are taken head-on. But no setback, however big, should deter the state and the citizenry in their fight against the enemy within.