The Punjab front

As the death toll from the deadly suicide attack on Punjab home minister Shuja Khanzada went up to 20, the government has been forced to open up a new front in the war against terrorism: Punjab. The murder of Punjab’s home minister has confirmed that not enough has been done to eradicate terrorism from all corners of the country. The attackers chose a precise time to target the home minister, which suggests that the attack was months in the making. The attack was both a security and an intelligence failure. That so much planning went into it should have meant that the minister should have been given adequate and specific forewarnings. The security failure is clear by the absence at the time of the Elite Force, the Punjab government’s anti-terrorism force. As the Punjab provincial cabinet paid rich tributes to martyred home minister Khanzada in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the CM promised to lead the war against terrorism. What is important for him to know, though, is that mourning the slain minister means nothing if this commitment to eradicating terrorism is not followed through.
On Monday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. He reiterated his resolve to go after all terrorist groups. A day earlier, two major anti-terrorist operations were conducted. Five suspected terrorists were killed in a Karachi raid while 15 suspected militants were killed in air raids in Khyber. While the entire political and military leadership have condemned the killing of Khanzada, it is this resolve that is forcing terrorist groups to act more desperately. It has now been confirmed that there were two suicide bombers who targeted Khanzada, which means that the groups involved are still strong. Confusion still exists over which terrorist group was behind the attack, with both the Lashkar-e-Islam and Jamaatul Ahrar (JA) claiming the attack. The latter is said to have connections to the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jaish-e-Mohammad groups. Remember: LeJ leader Malik Ishaq was killed in a police encounter two weeks ago. There are reports of purported Islamic State infiltration in areas in Punjab. There will need to be serious action taken across the country. While all the political leadership has condemned the attack, some of these parties will need to look at their own organisations. The country may be united in grief for the martyred Khanzada, but it needs to be united in action more now than ever before. Punjab will be an important battleground.