In the aftermath of the attack on PNS Mehran Naval Base in Karachi, there are conflicting reports emerging about the attack itself and the operation. Initially the media reported that up to 15 terrorists attacked the naval base simultaneously from three different sides. However, after the operation ended, Interior Minister Rehman Malik declared that the base was attacked from one vulnerable area; in a surreal scenario, four to six militants apparently used a ladder and cut barbed wires to climb over the wall near Malir tributary. The next day, police officials, citing the initial case report, said there were up to 12 militants involved in the attacks. It will take a few days to establish what exactly happened at the naval base for those 17 hours. But the implications of this attack are already clear and, unfortunately, staggering.
Pakistan’s Navy has been a militant target for years, starting with the attack on the Navy War College in Lahore in March 2008. In the last month, the attacks gained significant momentum when two Navy buses were bombed within days of each other. The 22nd May attack was the most coordinated and large scale assault on the military since the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army came under siege in 2009.
On the surface, what happened at the naval base seems to be another retaliatory attack to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden, which was later confirmed by the Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP). However, it is debtable whether it was possible for the terrorists to plan and execute such an organized operation within a mere 20 days of the OBL raid. If this is indeed the case, then we, and the rest of the world, have seriously underestimated the organizational and intelligence capability of the TTP and Al Qaeda. But given that the navy was being attacked before bin Laden’s death, it is likely that the purpose of this plan was broader than simple retaliation. The attackers probably had two objectives; to destroy P-3C Orion surveillance planes and kill the 17 foreigners who were present at the base for maintenance purposes. They succeeded in their first goal but thankfully failed in the second. At such a critical point in Pakistan’s history of combating terrorism, we could ill afford another harrowing repeat of the killing of seven French naval engineers in Karachi in 2002.
The most important question on everyone’s minds within and outside Pakistan is whether the attack was a result of a simple security lapse, or that there were complicit elements that had access to, and knowledge of, the naval base. If it is only a security breach then it raises serious concerns about the ability of our defence forces to defend themselves. Historically, Pakistan’s armed forces are the only institution which has been considered disciplined, efficient and competent. But the GHQ attacks, the OBL raid and now the Mehran base attacks have sown seeds of doubts among many about the ability of the armed forces to defend the nation.
The possibility of inside collaboration cannot be ruled out. The terrorists knew the blind spot from which they could enter while avoiding CCTV cameras; they also knew about the hangar with P-3C planes. Inquiries made after the GHQ attacks indicated complicity on the part of lower rank staff in giving information to the terrorists. If a similar scenario unfolds during the investigation of this attack, then the military must perform an extensive security check of all its personnel to root out those who might be sympathetic to the cause of the TTP and Al Qaeda.
The Pakistani government, its politicians and establishment have been involved in duplicity in terms of what is told to the public and what happens in reality. Wikileaks papers on Pakistan, currently being published by a leading local newspaper, have blown the lid off the cauldron of this duality in policies. It is time for those in power to consider how long they can afford to mislead the public and make ad hoc decisions very possible of backfiring.
It is in the national interest of Pakistan to fight terrorism whole-heartedly, for the threat has dug its claws deep in our soil. Our soldiers and officers have given their lives in the cause for a peaceful, tolerant Pakistan. We owe it to their legacy, and the legacy of 35,000 civilians who died in terror attacks, to take stock of what we are facing within this country. We owe it to this country to root out supporters and sympathizers of terrorism from within the state apparatus. After a series of attacks highlighting the vulnerability of the armed forces, perhaps it is time to hold them accountable to their performance as well.
Finally, the conspiracy theories afloat in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, regarding the involvement of the “foreign hand,” need to be debunked. It is, and has always been, convenient to shift the blame of what happens in the country to “the other.” We must first clean our own house before we pay heed to these allegations. Once we are able to eliminate the tumor of power-hungry violence from within, any foreign hand, if present, will be rendered useless.
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