IN view of a serious threat to the Parliament House, Air Force and Naval complexes and Islamabad international airport, a number of joint teams comprising Air Force, Navy and police commandos are combing the Margalla Hills, while strict security is being maintained around many other sensitive installations in the capital.

Additional police force and Frontier Constabulary soldiers have been deputed at Karachi and Sukkur Central Jails, which are thought to be the next targets to release hardcore religious and sectarian terrorist inmates. Red alert sirens have also been installed for protection of other security installations across the country.

After the recent jail break in D.I. Khan, wherein the Taliban were able to take along around 250 comrades, everyone in Pakistan fears an increase in terrorist activities. It was not only a jail-break but a success story of safely transporting the released inmates to North Waziristan, which is several hundred kilometres away from D.I. Khan.

One can understand when, in view of intelligence reports, the US and its allies announced shutting down embassies and consulates in a number of cities in the region, as this is the maximum they can do; they can’t fight back in a host country. But if a host country also behaves like the guests and starts guarding its own installations, then that means terrorists are taking over that country and the real threat is at everyone’s doorstep.

No country in the world can provide fool-proof security to its forces’ installations, its commercial centres, its education institutes, its historical monuments, its recreational spots; the only way forward is to take the fight to the terrorists themselves, wherever they have either holed up or being churned out on a wholesale basis.

Regrettably, Pakistan may be the only country in the world which is not ready to realise what’s written on the wall.

After repeated attacks on security forces, numerous jail-breaks, failure of courts to punish the terrorists, murder of 50,000 civilian and security personnel, one thing is for sure: we are on the retreat and terrorists are winning.

Terrorists have mentally high-jacked a section of the print and electronic media. Many media gurus go to any extent to justify acts of terrorism.

Pakistan can't move forward until we call spade a spade regardless of terrorists’ religious, sectarian and ideological leanings.

MASOOD KHANJubail
Saudi Arab