Agencies ought to track down handlers of PAF camp attackers

ISLAMABAD: The terrorist attack on the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) camp in Badaber near Peshawar that took place a month after the martyrdom of Punjab Home Minister Col (R) Shuja Khanzada in a similar hit proved that the militants still have the ability, how whittled down it may be, to strike.
This potential and capability is obviously an eyeopener for the security forces, especially the intelligence agencies, which are engaged day in and day out in eliminating the terrorists. However, the remnants of the terrorists have demonstrated that they still have the means, resources and human fodder to assault. This is worrisome and points to a long haul till an absolute victory can be pronounced.
It goes without saying that the terrorists did a meticulous planning, chose the prime target,
arranged the bombers and decided the timing of the attack. Although it was aborted in the sense that all the attackers were killed as they failed to hit the camp, a large number of worshippers and four armed forces personnel embraced martyrdom. This is a huge human loss. The agencies remained oblivious of all the preparations being done by the terrorists of this strike. The inability to have a clue to their nefarious design calls for further reinforcement and strengthening of surveillance and vigilance.
The sacrifices rendered by the armed forces are undoubtedly matchless. The resolve and support of the government and the entire political leadership to continuously stand behind the operation against terrorists is equally encouraging. Everyone is determined to wipe out the militants come what may. No individual or institution can carry on the most difficult operation single-handed and meet with success without such a universal consensus. In fact, this unanimity guarantees final victory.
Now when all the thirteen terrorists, who carried out the attack, were killed by the security forces, it is incumbent upon all the intelligence agencies to track down their handlers, sponsors and planners so that they are brought to justice. The attack exhibited that the terrorist network, how incapacitated it may have been as per the official assertion, still exists, which needs to be completely obliterated.
The frequency of terrorist attacks has no doubt drastically come down. The last heartwrenching hit took place on August 16 when Shuja Khanzada and 20 others were killed in his political office in his village in Attock district. This strike shook all and sundry for the fact that the superstar was heroically pitched against terrorists in Punjab.
Before that, the bone chilling massacre of children of the Army Public School (APS) Peshawar on December 16, 2014 changed the whole scenario and gave a tremendous fillip to the operation against militants. The Constitution and the Pakistan Army Act were amended to allow trial of the hardcore civilian terrorists by military courts so that those arrested on the charge of this heinous crime don’t go scot-free if arraigned before the normal courts. Thus, more tools were put in place to plug loopholes, if any.
The selection of the Badaber camp unambiguously showed that the target was a premier installation, run by the PAF, which is comprehensively involved in taking out the terrorists and their hideouts through air strafing in the tribal areas. The strike is akin to the attacks on Kamra bases on December 10, 2007 and August 16, 2012, Jinnah airport Karachi on June 8, 2011, Smungli airbase (Balochistan) on August 14, 2014, PNS Mehran Karachi on May 22, 2011 and Peshawar airport on December 15, 2012.
The first major terrorist attack since the start of the Zarb-e-Azb in June 2014 had taken place at the Pakistan-India border crossing at Wagah in which more than sixty persons including three Rangers personnel were killed and some 120 others injured. The strike was carried out after the flag-lowering ceremony, which attracts thousands of spectators every day and is popular with foreign tourists, culminated.
The APS Peshawar bombing occurred on the most horrible day of Pakistan’s history – the fall of Dhaka. Every year, the Pakistani nation sheds tears on cutting off the East Wing through Indian aggression on December 16, 1971 and continues to mourn. Its unprecedented agony was compounded by the slaying of innocent students. It reconfirmed the well-considered opinion that these terrorists were in reality anti-Pakistan.