Editorial
Commando-style attack in Lahore
Pakistan's leaders must get a grip on conditions
The commando style attack on a police academy in Lahore on Monday shows up yet once again Pakistan's vulnerability in the face of growing terrorism. That the attack has been foiled, albeit after a number of deaths have occurred, is a matter of relief. But one cannot quite say that there will not be any more such attacks on the state since the frequency of the assaults on targets in the country has been going up in worrying manner. The point about Pakistan's predicament has been well expressed by interior advisor Rehman Malik. The country, he has said, is in need of political unity. An absence of that will mean a choice between handing Pakistan over to the Taliban or fighting them out of the country. That statement is symbolic of where Pakistan stands today.
Add to the militancy problem the difficulties Pakistan has been facing on its domestic political front. What emerges is the image of a country beleaguered from nearly every side, which fact raises the question of whether the present leadership in Islamabad is equipped or ready to handle the problems before it. President Zardari has through his recent actions not convinced many of his political acumen. Even so, his quick capitulation before the Nawaz Sharif juggernaut on the issue of the restoration of judges earlier dismissed by the Pervez Musharraf regime defused what otherwise could have been an explosive situation. But now the time is here for a tough, focused handling of the violence of the kind that was unleashed in Lahore on Monday. Obviously, non-state actors have now taken upon themselves the sordid task of trying to overwhelm the state in Pakistan. That is the biggest danger that the country's fledgling, almost tottering democracy faces. It is a worry that assails not only other nations, including Bangladesh, in the region but also powerful global players like the United States. An unstable Pakistan will have deep ramifications in its neighbourhood and elsewhere.
Firm and determined action in tackling militancy in Pakistan is today an absolute necessity. On the effectiveness or otherwise of such action will depend the country's long-term future.
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