As the Pakistani government navigates the aftermath of the Balochistan attack, the scale of the violence continues to break records. The death toll has now reached 50, making it one of the deadliest single-day attacks in the history of Balochistan—or indeed, all of Pakistan. The government’s response has been lacklustre at best.

Statements have poured in from the Interior Minister, Prime Minister, President, Senate, Parliament, and various other governmental bodies. However, these statements have offered little more than expressions of Pakistan’s resolve to address the situation, condemnation of the incident, and denunciations of the attackers as terrorists without any moral standing. What remains absent from these declarations is any concrete plan of action. So far, the government has provided only vague assurances that Pakistan will go above and beyond to solve this problem.

But what does “above and beyond” actually mean? We are still waiting for an answer. Forty-eight hours after the incident, the government’s inability to articulate a clear policy response suggests confusion within its ranks about how to tackle this issue. Faced with militancy on such a scale, there is only one solution.

Kinetic operations, military interventions, increased law enforcement, and the decisive use of Pakistan’s military power are necessary to bring these terrorists to heel. Yet there seems to be no clear acknowledgment that the military needs to act now and act decisively. As it stands, Pakistan is awash in strong statements, while Balochistan drowns in a pool of civilian blood and unrest.

Pakistan cannot continue to mollify its citizens with empty words and tired platitudes - it must back those words by action. A war – and make no mistake this is a war – cannot be won by clever statements.