Attack on Pakistan school a game-changer

There were outbursts of grief and anguish all over Paksitan after Taliban militants stormed into an Army-run school in the north western city of Peshawar on December 16, 2014 and killed 148 people, including 132 students, in one of the ghastliest attacks ever. A huge blast shook the Army Public School and seven gunmen went from one class room to another and burst into a killing spree. Nine teachers were killed and 200 more children and teaching staff wounded. The lady principal and vice-principal were shot dead.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed that the attack was perpetrated as a revenge against the on-going military operation targeting their hideouts. The six-month offensive against militants in North Waziristan has been hailed as a success in Pakistan. This was denounced by leaders all over the world. Even all other militant factions condemned the attack.
WORLWIDE REVULSION: The Government, army and political parties in Pakistan are under new pressure to combat scourge of militancy. Heads of Government and people of neighbouring countries have condemned the attack and expressed condolences for those who died. In Kolkata, capital of Indian state of Paschimbanga, bordering Bangladesh, schoolchildren on December 17 held placards paying tributes to the children and staff of the school who died.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif convened an all party conference in Peshawar on December17, where the participants unanimously pledged support for on-going military operations in tribal regions. They agreed that terrorism in any form must be conclusively defeated.
Opposition leader Imran Khan announced during the meeting that he was ending Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) sit-in at Islamabad. Peshawar is the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where his PTI leads a coalition government. According to Pakistani writers, Mr. Khan was constrained to put his prime ministerial ambitions on hold. He is alleged to have a soft corner for TTP. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is also learnt to have weaknesses for TTP. Both are men of limited vision whose lives revolve around their selfish ambitions and are sympathetic to outlawed TTP.
Many are of the view that the national/local leaders can not escape their responsibility. If they stop giving a tacit support to TTP, it would be a first step towards eliminating militancy from the country.
FRESH STRIKES: Pakistan's Army chief, General Raheel Sharif, accompanied by DG ISI visited Kabul on December 17 and emphasized the need for action to drive out terrorists from Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Officials of Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed on such an offensive against militants. Pakistan Army has intensified its attacks, in which dozens of alleged militants were reported to have been killed.
At the same time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted a six-year moratorium on the death penalty for those convicted of terror offences and executions started. Human Rights Watch, as usual, has objected without suggesting any alternative to mitigate such situation. There is also fear of jailbreak, and army was deployed to guard major prisons housing militants.
ENDING MILITANCY: Question has been raised if such Government and military actions would end militancy, as records show violence following previous attacks. Some influential quarters have vested interests in continuing militancy. Islamic scholars who are not on anybody's pay roll say suicide attacks are not tenable in the light of Islam.
Actually, intolerance, socio-cultural backwardness and poverty are the breeding grounds of terrorism as knowledgeable scholars on comparative religion point out. Terrorism is to be removed in a planned way through introducing appropriate education system coupled with economic development. The prevailing information technology can be easily availed to destroy this barrier.  
The political quarters that do not sincerely vow to wipe out militants of all hue and colour, out of fear that it might affect their vote banks, are now under compulsion to read the writings on the wall. The Peshawar attack is seen as a game changer, which has united Pakistan against the scourge of militants who killed thousands and destroyed the country's infrastructure.
The burning issue now is to clamp down on the socio-economic roots of the militants. People and political leaders of Pakistan should take lessons from the history of this sub-continent to find out why the situation has assumed such an ominous proportion and find out remedial measures.  
The writer is an economist,
advocate and columnist.
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