THE fact that Pakistani stance has considerably changed to harden against the extremists as they are no longer seen as strategic assets by either the government or the armed forces. This has also been reinforced by Mark Sedwill, a senior Nato civilian representative in Afghanistan. Apparently the ground realities have forced him to present an unbiased picture based on hard facts and figures.

This realisation that attitudes and needs have altered to such a degree in the Pakistan security front is also being felt. The security agencies, contrary to popularly misrepresented views, have stopped distinguishing good Taliban from bad as no yardstick has yet been devised to accurately measure such a trait. It is either terrorists or peaceful citizens.

Sedwill’s statement that “…People sometimes say the Pakistanis must do more… (but) actually they have lost an awful lot of soldiers fighting the groups that target them. They have their hands full…” is a fact that needs to be highlighted globally.

A huge breakthrough from the popular perception, however, was felt after confessions by a Hindutva terrorist, Swami Aseemanand. He confessed that RSS, a Hindu extremist organisation, was behind almost all terror attacks in India after 2006. The fact that no connection was established between the Pakistani security apparatus and the Lashkar-i-Taiba that was primarily being accused of perpetrating terrorism in India in any of the proposed attacks, confirms Pakistan’s impartial and upright stance against terrorism.

Pakistan has enough on its hands with a fragile economy, fighting a global war on its own territory with rising geopolitical pressures and an endless threat emanating from within and across both eastern and western borders. What it needs is some breathing space to pick up all its pieces so that it may move towards a better future.

DR NIDA SHAMI Windsor, Canada