Third, socio-economic inclusion and mainstreaming may
take away from the militant organizations a big chunk of the youth recruited in
the peripheral areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan to carry out acts of
terrorism. A comprehensive and holistic plan of socio-economic development
could well deal a blow to the present illegal avenues (drug trafficking,
kidnapping, etc) of the war economy. One of the reasons for the continuous
insurgent and terrorist activities in the region is the expansion of the war
economy and the absence of a legal, documented one.
Fourth, the media has emerged as a strong player and a
vibrant tool to help the public form opinions. Keeping in view the deep-rooted
militant discourse present in many sections of the mainstream media, the
governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan need to develop a comprehensive
counter-militant media policy to deprive militant organizations of public
support.
Fifth, a military response to insurgent and terrorist
activities must be surgical, targeted, time-bound and accountable in nature.
The security forces of Pakistan must succeed in dismantling militant centres,
cut off militants’ networking points and break their supply lines. Reliance
must be placed on efficient and coordinated intelligence gathering rather than
on heavy weapons which inevitably affect the local population and create space
for militants.
The writer is a researcher.
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