So far, whatever is known about Ahrar-ul-Hind only reveals the inadequate intelligence we possess on local terrorist factions. We are told a chunk of ‘facts’ by a visibly-shaken ISI and an even more incoherent government. We are informed that it is a splinter group of extremists that once endorsed anti-democracy beliefs of TTP until it decided to engage in peace talks with the incumbent government. We are also told – by Chaudhary Nisar, no less – that the group appeared “out of no where” as though spontaneously generating existence with the help of thin air. It would be safe to say that we are still (if not more) unsafe.
What is glaringly clear about Ahrar-ul-Hind is its flagrant agenda to attack more civilians and with how undecided our Inter-Services Intelligence agencies remain, it seems as if the life of a common Pakistani is simply a ticking death case waiting to be blown any second. Although AUH began its formation in February, it is known that its leader – 38-year-old Umar Qasmi – had been plotting anti-state attacks for a considerable amount of time by now. Most of the sympathy he received was from his hometown – Jhang – in Punjab.
The most unsettling fact of the matter is the lack of centralized data our agencies possess on these factions and their splinter groups. Whether they maintain animosity against each other or not is secondary to the reality that terrorist groups in Pakistan ensnare innocent citizens directly within the crosshairs of this brutal conflict. It is frightening for a simple reason: When the government remains at a loss to explain a nascent group, unarmed civilians end up paying for their faulty strategy. Qasmi does not intend on wrapping this up; he stated attacks would continue in Pakistan’s cities despite the outcome of peace talks. Clearly we need to rethink our national security plan.