In the aftermath of the American Abbottabad operation to kill Osama bin Laden and the more recent terrorist attack on the Mehran naval base resulting in the loss of precious lives and the destruction of two Orion aircraft worth billions of rupees, Pakistan looks like a country under siege. This impression is further strengthened by the unending terrorist attacks on civilian and military targets, the continuing US drone attacks in our tribal areas and the constant US refrain urging us to do more in the fight against terrorism. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her visit to Islamabad last week acknowledged the enormous sacrifices that Pakistan had made in the fight against terrorism. But at the same time she stressed that in countering terrorism, much more remained to be done. She also pointed out in her press conference in Islamabad that the Pakistani leadership had assured her that it would take some additional specific steps in the fight against terrorism. Thus, even during Hillary Clintons visit to mend fences with the Pakistani leadership, the US maintained the pressure on Pakistan to do more in countering terrorism. Of course, the pressure was accompanied by the usual US assurances of support to Pakistans stability and security and promises of cooperation with Pakistan in advancing the cause of national reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan. The precarious security situation in the country and the relentless external pressure should leave us in no doubt that terrorism has emerged as the most formidable threat to the stability, security and progress of the country. The people and the government of Pakistan must take decisive action to eradicate this menace which is eating into the vitals of the society. The seriousness of the matter does not allow any ambiguity or prevarication in the fight against terrorism. Any group which uses violent means for political ends must be dealt with an iron hand. The terrorists who target innocent people and valuable national assets are among the worst enemies of Pakistan. The same conclusion applies to those groups which operate from our territory to launch terrorist attacks against other countries. Under the present circumstances when the international community has accorded the highest priority to the fight against terrorism, to allow it would be nothing less than suicidal. It is true that the government of Pakistan has unequivocally condemned terrorism in any form or manifestation. But it is equally true that many of Al Qaeda leaders have been captured by our own authorities in Pakistan where they had been living clandestinely. The US operation which led to the killing of Osama bin Laden, who had been living in Abbottabad undetected by our intelligence agencies, amply proves the point. It is also a fact that the links of many of the terrorists arrested abroad for alleged terrorist activities have been traced to some group or the other in Pakistan. The obvious conclusion that can be drawn is that our law enforcement authorities, particularly our intelligence agencies, have failed miserably in their mission to identify and neutralize terrorist cells in the country. It is not clear whether this incompetence is due to some policy failure at the governmental level, the infiltration and compromise of our security and intelligence agencies by the extremist and terrorist elements, or lack of focus on the part of our intelligence agencies because of their involvement in political activities, or, perhaps, a combination of all the three elements. In view of the seriousness of the threat posed by terrorism to our very national survival, our government must put a definite end to any ambiguity that might have existed between our declared and operational anti-terrorism policies. There is no justification for the continued existence of the so-called jihadi outfits on our territory. Some of them have assumed an autonomous character indulging in activities which run contrary to the states internal and external policies. This is totally impermissible. Non-state actors cannot be allowed to take the law in their hands in a civilized society. As shown by the Abbottabad operation, the danger is that if our government does not take resolute action against them and their illegal activities, the rest of the international community will. The Abbottabad operation to kill Osama bin Laden and the attack on the Mehran naval base have brought home the incompetence of our intelligence agencies. Their repeated failures and lapses call for a major overhaul of the entire intelligence network to remove its shortcomings, ensure better coordination among the various intelligence agencies, and cleanse them of extremist elements which may have infiltrated and compromised them. The sooner this is done the better it would be for the country. The security of the country is too important to allow any leniency in handling the lapses on the part of our security agencies. It is also high time that our intelligence agencies refrained from involvement in internal political activities and concentrated on their proper duties. The country has already suffered enough from the webs of political intrigues that they wove in the past, destabilizing the country politically in the process. Their unconstitutional activities not only stunted the process of political evolution on democratic lines but also had the indirect effect of undermining the rule of law and encouraging rampant financial corruption in the country. Further, the interference of our security agencies in political affairs had the undesirable effect of affecting adversely their effectiveness in the discharge of their security and intelligence-related duties. Hopefully, the present leadership of the armed forces, in accordance with its declarations, will also maintain its distance from political activities as the constitution and the oath of the armed forces officers require it to do. The critical situation facing the country calls for the reform of the armed forces to enable them to safeguard the security of the country in an effective manner under the command of the federal government. Our armed forces consume too high a proportion of the nations resources, thus, diverting them from the urgent task of economic development and well-being of the country. Further, their involvement in economic, commercial, real estate and banking activities has had a negative impact on their professionalism. There are reports of corruption and enormous waste in the military sector. The senior officers of the armed forces have adopted a lavish life-style which is totally undesirable for the officials of a poor country where the common man finds it difficult to make both ends meet. By the way, our senior politicians, bureaucrats and feudal landlords are equally guilty of this inappropriate life-style. Instead of the present bloated defence sector, what we need is leaner armed forces which can perform more effectively with fewer resources. This would require a wholesale reform of our military and changes in our security policy and military doctrines. The way our armed forces have been operating in the past cannot be sustained any longer by the countrys meager resources. Besides the reform of our military and intelligence agencies, the gravity of the situation confronting our country demands that our politicians should also mend their ways and concentrate on providing good governance and ridding the society of the menace of corruption. Unfortunately, the present political leaders of the country, especially at the federal level, have badly failed on both these counts. Their management of the economy has been one of the worst in the countrys history. Charges of corruption abound against the political leaders of the country. If they dont wake up and take corrective measures urgently, the tide of public discontent, which is building up at the grass roots level, will soon sweep them into the dustbin of history. n The writer is a retired ambassador. Email: javid.husain@gmail.com