EDITORIAL : THE DAWN, PAKISTAN

PNS Mehran attack

NEVER since the attack on GHQ in Rawalpindi in 2009 have the militants shown such audacity and meticulous planning as witnessed in their blitz launched on PNS Mehran in Karachi on Sunday night. Its dimensions and ferocity were different from the three previous attacks on PN targets last month. It was like a war operation, with the militants piercing the naval installation`s defences to race through what should have been a well-defended base, and wreak havoc on the garrison. It wasn`t an ordinary attack, if at all an attack on a military base can be called `ordinary`; it was a well-planned mini-invasion by highly trained killers who appeared to be well-acquainted with the layout of the naval aviation base. They knew the location of their targets, both men and material, and displayed utter contempt for the naval personnel through their astonishing speed and firepower. No disrespect is meant for the navy, some of whose men paid the ultimate price in the line of duty, but the incident raises quite a few questions about the state of preparedness of our defence forces in general and the navy in particular.

Why wasn`t the navy ready for this kind of eventuality, given that there have been three bomb attacks on PN targets in Karachi last month? If Interior Minister Rehman Malik is correct, then only four militants were involved in a siege and an operation that lasted until Monday afternoon. What confidence can the people have in the armed forces when they see the defenders themselves falling victim to terrorism in the heart of the nation`s biggest city? By breaching the defences of a naval installation, as they did on Sunday with such ease, or of the GHQ in October 2009, the militants have wantonly displayed their power to attack and kill and destroy at will wherever and whenever they wish. Or are the armed forces finding it difficult to make the change from fighting set-piece battles to countering the kind of sophisticated urban terrorism that Taliban and Al Qaeda affiliates have unleashed on the state and people of Pakistan? Another question: did the Taliban raiders have informers inside the naval base? Such a possibility cannot be ruled out, because the involvement of serving personnel in several previous attacks has been well established.

The intelligence failure in the Mehran tragedy highlights one more damning truth: the safe sanctuaries aren`t only present in Fata; they exist in Karachi too, for Sunday`s assault would not have been possible without the existence of a well-oiled Taliban machine in the city.

Southern Punjab leaks

The official reaction is still awaited to a WikiLeaks cable about money from some Arab countries finding its way to extremists in southern Punjab districts.

The cable was sent in November 2008 by the then principal officer at the US consulate in Lahore. It was estimated that $100m was routed to some clerics in southern Punjab and that part of the amount was used to recruit and indoctrinate youngsters, turning them into jihadis and potential suicide bombers.

The messenger said he based his observations on information gathered from local residents and officials, including a nazim who complained how politics hampered the proper tackling of the issue. The officer had southern districts such as Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan in mind.

Some information in the message matched the details that journalists have come up with in their reports confirming developments such as a campaign by hard-line sects to take over mosques run by the majority Barelvi school of thought.

Obviously, not meant as a public document that would require vetting of more facts including the names of individuals, the cable went as far as to say that a couple of jihadi camps were operating in Bahawalpur while another was being run on the outskirts of Dera Ghazi Khan.

Unfortunately, a significant section of Pakistanis have been dismissing the identification of southern Punjab as a jihadi sanctuary, saying that this was part of a conspiracy. There have been arguments, not all of them fanciful, about the dangers and futility of focusing exclusively on these parts of Punjab.

The theory that seeks to take the focus off southern Punjab by stating the influence of the Gulf states was common to all areas of Pakistan is not without substance. Having said that, the mention of southern Punjab in the context of terrorism and jihadi violence has been too frequent to allow the administration to sit idle. The best way to address the issue is to carry out a transparent fact-finding exercise in the area. Mere denials won’t do, especially at a time when the government’s credibility is low.

Vicious circle

IT is a well-established fact that poverty and the lack of employment opportunities make people more likely to participate in anti-state activities. Under-development leads to resentment against the state, which fuels militancy and extremism. It is in this context that the closure of 31 of 70 centres for the development of women`s skills in Fata should be understood. Set up by the Fata Secretariat in early 2001, with just under a Rs2m allocation, these centres accomplished the productive task of training women in skills such as embroidery, tailoring, knitting, etc which allowed them the means of earning a livelihood. The centres also provided training in crucial areas such as hygiene and sanitation, childcare and basic medicine. Official estimates indicate that around 10,000 women had benefited from the centres. Now, however, many of them are closed, in part because of the security situation in much of the troubled region: monitoring teams cannot carry out inspections, and the local women themselves, though interested in learning the skills, cannot go to the centres. As this paper reported yesterday, many of the closed centres have been ransacked by thieves who have taken away equipment and furniture.

The basic problems in Fata will not change unless the area sees effective development initiatives undertaken on an urgent basis. The authorities need to set up schools and vocational centres as well as create opportunities for employment and earning. Through these means, people`s stakes in the state can be increased. There is an obvious need to clear the area of militants and bring it back under the administrative writ of the government. However, this needs to be buttressed by developing the area and bringing it at par with other parts of the country. Meanwhile, every development initiative that has been started, such as the vocational centres for women, must be protected and taken further.