Terror in Lahore

A suicide attack by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan at a police checkpost in Lahore shows that any talk of having vanquished the group – or militancy in general – is premature. Nine people, five of them police officers, perished in the attack and another 35 were injured. The attack took place near a Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Raiwind where an estimated 70,000 people were present at the congregation so there was potential for even greater loss of life – although the TTP statement claiming responsibility said it was specifically targeting the police. This is the first attack of its kind in Lahore this year but more than 60 people were killed in a blast at Mall Road last year and over 70 people were killed in a suicide bombing in a park in 2016. The sad reality is that, despite our undeniable successes in the war against militancy, the TTP and its offshoots still retain the ability to seemingly attack at will in any part of the country. Such attacks should serve as a reminder to the state that its job of keeping the country safe is far from complete.

The question now for the government is what more it can do to defeat the TTP. Much of the leadership of the TTP is based in Afghanistan, and the Afghan government has shown inability – or unwillingness – to take on the group. Although we have taken steps to better secure the border with Afghanistan, such measures invariably end up inconveniencing those who have a genuine need to cross the border while doing little to thwart militant groups. Afghanistan’s main complaint against Pakistan is the country’s perceived lack of action against the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani Network. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan need to take on such groups that operate on their soil, while cooperating with each other in the process. It is also clear that the National Action Plan has not been implemented in full. NAP was always meant to be more comprehensive than just military operations in the tribal areas. The main challenge was to fight the ideology of militant groups so as to halt its spread around the country. To do this required the state to realise that no distinctions should be drawn between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ militant groups. All such groups share similar aims even if their methods differ and all need to be treated as equal threats. This latest devastating attack needs to be taken seriously and NAP strengthened so that this country can finally defeat the militant threat that has taken so many lives.