THE Sahiwal tragedy, terribly unfortunate that it is, has important lessons for us all, even though the investigation process is still ongoing.

First, it seems that the war on terror is far from over. Indeed, foot-soldiers, or soft patrons or sympathisers who adhere to a violent or revolutionary ideologically-based philosophy may be found amongst us all, just like any other society. Therefore, we need to be vigilant and on the lookout for such individuals so that innocent civilians may not get enamoured in their evil designs.

Second, our internal security apparatus personnel need to further develop and hone their skills in terms of their professional and technological capacities as this intermittent warfare has now traversed into cyber-space and other technological realms. Our law enforcement agencies should possess capabilities and skills so that they can hone in on their targets without causing collateral damage i.e. loss of innocent lives.

Third, we should not hesitate to expand our internal and external agency-to-agency co-operative efforts to keep such elements in check and on the run.

Fourth, the innocent persons who lost their lives in Sahiwal or other such encounters should be adequately compensated from the government’s martyrs/shuhada funds as early as possible.

Abbas R. Siddiqi

Lahore

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2019