16th December was already a dark day in our history and its darkness further increased on the same day in 2014, 8 years back, when 148 people, including 132 children from APS Peshawar lost their lives in what can be described as the most ruthless and brutal terror attack during the last 20 years of war against terror.
The incident was a wake up call for Pakistan. Op Zarb e Azb was launched to root out the menace of terrorism from Pakistani soil. Thousands of terrorists were killed while many of them, including top leadership of militant groups shifted across the border in Afghanistan. Till date, the terrorists continue their war against the Pakistan Army in Afghanistan. Sniper attack on Pakistani check posts on Afghan border,
The National Action Plan (NAP) was adopted only after this tragic incident. It outlined many areas for both the federal government and Pakistani security institutions to work on. The Pakistan Army initiated multiple operations and reform activities to meet the requirements of NAP. The response from the civilian side was not very quick. For example, Pakistan took many years to reconfigure its banking system to deny terrorists easy financing facilities. Pakistan had to spend many years on FATF’s gray list and its removal from that list was only possible due to the Pakistan Army’s active participation in this process of streamlining the local banking system as per the requirements of international standards set by the global watchdog. Similarly, there were few points about addressing the spread of extremism in NAP which hitherto remain unfulfilled.
Thousands of Pakistan Army officers and Jawans have laid down their lives in this prolonged, ruthless, low-intensity conflict. Pakistan’s traditional foe continued to stir violence in Pakistan with the collusion of Afghan security forces, intel apparatus and local sleeper cells in Pakistan. Pakistan presented proof of Indian involvement in violent activities in Pakistan, including the money trail flowing from Indian banks to terrorists’ accounts through international banking channels. The selection of date for APS attack was no coincidence. The Pakistani nation already had bitter memories of 16th December 1971 and every year this day reminds us of our greatest national tragedy. In 2014, the attack on APS Peshawar the nation was wounded even deeper.
It’s of the utmost importance that the youth of Pakistan must feel secure within their homeland and to achieve that, both the state and people of Pakistan will have to stand behind its gallant security forces. Our enemies are after this unique bond of love and appreciation between the people of Pakistan and their armed forces. This is a constant struggle as, in the age of digital media and fake news paddling on it, many might fall victim to this lethal combination of modern hybrid warfare which Pakistan has been fighting for many years now. We must never forget 16 December 2014 and the best way to achieve that is to deny the enemy any success on the propaganda front.
