THE carnage wrought by a hitherto unknown group, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi al-Almi, on the Kohat-Hangu Road on Friday is telling evidence that the army operation against the enemies of peace, no matter how sweeping it might be, could only prove to be a fire-fighting exercise. Radical measures to enlighten the minds of men, where reside the evil thoughts of killing a human being for subscribing to a different faith or a different shade of it, have to follow suit. Condemnations, condolences and compensations can neither reconstruct the broken hearts whose dear ones or breadwinners had fallen victim to this inhumanity nor in any way make the killers repent. Nor the meaningless calls to arrest the culprits would serve as a deterrent. The conclusion that the military action has resulted in the situation fast returning to normal is hard to sustain at the sight of 32 dead, nearly 80 injured and a busy shopping centre instantly turned to ruin, with a hotel building razed to the ground, and over a dozen shops and as many vehicles completely destroyed. It is a great pity that though our political leaders generously indulge in the ritual of issuing statements from whatever corner of the world they might be found at the moment of a tragedy, they seems to be averse to sparing a moment to reflect about what could be done to change the fearsome scenario of pervasive insecurity to an abiding atmosphere of peace and harmony. At times one feels that they are simply incapable of doing so; for the answer is not hard to find though it would certainly need a firm resolve to push it through. The government's priority should lie in trying to change the militant mindset: the establishment of a network of schools and colleges to teach modern disciplines and assimilating madrassahs or suitably changing their syllabi; the promotion of small-scale industries and agricultural projects to provide gainful employment to the people; the restoration of law and order to give them a sense of security; the provision of timely and easy justice - these steps need to be taken on a war footing to bring the general run of people there into the mainstream of life. Now they live in a state reminiscent of the Middle Ages, but once they are exposed to modern life and develop a more rational view about difference of opinion, things would change. On the other hand, complete reliance on military action and listlessness in the face of militancy can spawn other hardline, killer groups. There is no time to lose but to initiate such measures right away.