VIEW: The importance of local intelligence —Gulmina Bilal Ahmad

The local population, particularly in the tribal areas, has started cooperating with the agencies to offer information regarding the whereabouts of the militants. Gone are the days, fortunately, when the local population would give protection to the militants

The monster struck again. The city of Peshawar was struck again by violence and terror. As horrified as the whole nation was whilst viewing the media footage of the three blasts, one could not help but think, when will it all end? Soon after, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for this ghastly act — an act of violence. The act of terrorising citizens and the despicable act of taking human life is condemned in the Quran quite clearly, “One who takes a life actually takes the life of all mankind.” The clear targets of the attacks were the US Consulate and the intelligence agency offices in the area. By choosing these two goals, in my opinion, the TTP and its associates have betrayed the fact that they are desperate.

During recent months, the leadership of the Pakistani Taliban has been systematically sniffed out and targeted. Whether it be the so-called Punjabi Taliban or the militants operating from FATA or other parts of the country, the hierarchy and command and control structure of the Taliban has been affected. According to various national and international media reports, on average, just this year 10 to 15 key militants and leaders of the TTP have been hit. This includes wanted key militants like Muhammad Qari Zafar who had on him head money of $ 5 million. Qari Zafar was a key leader of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and had a close liaison with the TTP. He was wanted, among other cases, for the 2006 bombing of the US Consulate in Karachi where a US diplomat, David Foy, was killed along with three innocent Pakistanis. He was also suspected to have been involved in the Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad and thus his death was a major blow to the militant network in Pakistan. According to other media reports, Pakistani security agencies and its allies have “killed Mansur al-Shami, an al Qaeda ideologue and aide to al Qaeda’s leader in Afghanistan, Mustafa Abu Yazid and Haji Omar Khan, a senior Taliban leader in North Waziristan. In December 2009, the US killed Abdullah Said al-Libi, the top commander of the Lashkar al-Zil (al Qaeda’s shadow army), Zuhaib al-Zahib, a senior commander in the Lashkar al-Zil and Saleh al-Somali, the leader of al Qaeda’s external network.”

The security forces have also, in recent months, successfully targeted mid-level militants of the TTP and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. One has already mentioned in these spaces before the effective targeting of the drones, which have successfully hit other key leaders.

It would have been naïve of us to assume that the militants would not react to these near fatal blows to their hierarchy. Pakistan has recently been promised a gift of surveillance drones by the US, which would increase the intelligence and surveillance capability of the security forces. Chinese explosives detectors have already been installed in Islamabad as a test case. However, even more importantly than all the surveillance and security equipment, is the increased willingness, in fact eagerness, of the local population to furnish the security agencies with local intelligence. The local population, particularly in the tribal areas, has started cooperating with the agencies to offer information regarding the whereabouts of the militants, etc. Gone are the days, fortunately, when the local population would give protection to the militants. Initially, because this war for peace was portrayed as a war of the west against the east, one would meet locals who would partially advocate non-cooperation with the agencies. The militants would also receive protection on account of tribal and familial affiliations. However, as informal chats with the locals have revealed, they are now sick of the conditions prevailing in their areas. From the Pasalkot region in North Waziristan to the slums of Karachi, Pakistanis are sick of terror. Hence, the greater eagerness to furnish agencies with information.

Thus the Peshawar attacks can be seen to be a reaction of the TTP and its associated networks against both Pakistani security agencies and the US. Unfortunately, the more we win the battles in the war for peace and freedom against the TTP, the more is the risk of such attacks. Hopefully, the reaction of the security agencies against the US Consulate attack in Peshawar will prove to be a deterrent. However, we still have to brace ourselves for the risk of such attacks. The more the TTP is pushed into a corner, the more violent and desperate they will become. Thus it is important that increased investment in surveillance and intelligence gathering is done. By intelligence gathering, one is not advocating only better coordination amidst the security agencies. Rather, the focus should be on involving more locals in on-ground reporting. Just as community policing facilitates better law and order, involving the local community in intelligence gathering by encouraging them to share information will lead to targeted strikes. The security agencies have been accused of killing innocent women and children. This is indeed unfortunate as whether it be the Pakistani Taliban or the security agencies, the death of innocent citizens is always incorrect and a colossal tragedy. By forming better local networks that can serve as watchdogs and report suspicious local goings-on, and by encouraging effective cooperation with the agencies, the deaths of the innocent due to incorrect estimates or information can also be further curtailed. Closer cooperation and relationship building between the security agencies and the locals will also take the wind out of the Pakistani Taliban’s propaganda of this being a war on Islam or the ‘us vs them’ psyche that they are eager to develop. The locals need to be taken on board in the war for peace and freedom. There can be no replacement for homegrown information and cooperation.

The writer is an Islamabad-based consultant. She can be reached at contact@individualland.com