Islamabad: An editorial in a Pakistani daily has said officers in the lower ranks of the military, who may be feeding information to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), should be severely punished, and a massive indoctrination programme should be carried out in order to prevent a shifting of loyalties because Pakistan cannot afford to lose the battle with militants.
According to the editorial in The Express Tribune, the TTP may have been slightly weakened by military operations but not only do they remain a potent force, they may also have become a more tactically astute one.
The only threat the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) face to their power in the tribal areas right now is the possibility of a military operation in North Waziristan, it stated.
Over the last year, there has been a definite shift in the strategy of the TTP. Instead of carrying out massive attacks in large cities where hundreds of helpless civilians are the chief targets, the militants are now concentrating on military targets, it further said.
Thus, Pakistan has witnessed attacks like the ones on the Kamra air base and the PNS Mehran, which are meant to destabilise the chief foe of the militants, the editorial said. This has now been followed by an attack on a PAF van in Peshawar, which killed eight people and injured 25 others, it added.
According to the editorial, by hitting the military hard and exposing its security weaknesses, the TTP is trying to warn the army off.
The militants are essentially saying that if the military does attack them in North Waziristan, then such attacks will intensify and expose even more problems for sensitive military installations, it said.
It is up to the military now to call the TTP``s bluff and go ahead with the proposed North Waziristan operation.
There is only one good way for the army to stop the TTP from attacking it and that is by defeating it completely, it added.
ANI