The massacre of innocent schoolchildren at an army school in Peshawar has turned out to be a watershed moment in Pakistan’s battle to eliminate terrorism. The rising tide of anger and disgust towards terrorists, namely the Pakistani Taliban, is now being channelled into result-oriented action and is the basis of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s vow to root out this disease, which attempts to grip the heart of a nation.
The fact that the government, opposition and the military now stand together in this campaign is heartening to see, as the prime minister makes a solid statement of intent. There is now no place for a misleading approach on how to differentiate the ‘good’ Taliban from the ‘bad’ one in the eyes of policymakers. Both are detrimental to the progress of the nation and the people are paying for it with their lives. The Taliban’s approach is simple: attempt to spread panic and fear through terror. A strategic approach must be adopted to counter this. There can be no room for error, or hesitation, and all arms of government machinery must be employed not just to unearth the culprits but also to deal with those who aid and abet them. These are the key elements of the government’s National Action Plan. Confidence building measures must be implemented amongst the security apparatus and society, which must reject outright any extremist ideologies, or actions that are being espoused.
