Hunting down the extremists

There have been countless incidents in which extremists have been apprehended, sometimes with arms and explosives, only to have been released by the authorities, and many instances of the extremists operating with the collusion or acquiescence of local authorities.

We sincerely hope that the recent serial bomb blasts have convinced the government of the need to get serious about the threat that the nation faces. There are many potentially fruitful avenues to explore with regard to the country's terror infrastructure that the government should waste no time in pursuing.

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The first of these is the financing of these terror networks -- where their funding comes from and how and to whom it is disbursed.

The second area the government needs to gather intelligence on is the organisational structure of the networks to fully understand just how they operate and to fully comprehend their reach and strength.

Third, the government needs to trace the route by which disaffected youth end up in these groups -- who are the leaders and recruiters who bring them into the fold and what is the means by which a law-abiding and peaceful citizen is convinced to take up arms against the state.

These are all investigations which could and should have been taken up long ago. The government had enough information at hand to realise the extent of the crisis and could have vigourously pursued the extremists if it had had the political will to do so.

There must be no repetition of past mistakes. The political will must be summoned. The investigation procedure must be non-political and non-partisan so as to maximise its efficiency -- no matter where the evidence leads. After all a politicised and compromised investigation that leads nowhere will harm the government more than anyone else.