PUNJAB Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s ‘admission’ that the underdeveloped southern belt of his province is a “breeding ground” for militants is a hopeful sign that the provincial government has finally recognised a growing threat to the country. But is the chief minister ready to move against the sectarian and jihadi outfits concentrated in and operating from south Punjab as well as other parts of the province? We don’t know. When the media pointed out the strong presence of faith-based, banned militant groups like Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Jaish-i-Mohammad in south Punjab some years ago, the Punjab government rejected the reports. The interior minister’s assertion that the banned outfits operating from south Punjab and abetting the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan were a serious threat to national security was dismissed as exaggerated. Sadly, even incidents of deadly sectarian and terrorist attacks by the militants operating under the brand name of Punjabi Taliban could not alter the misplaced notions of the Punjab government, nor did the widespread criticism of the provincial law minister’s mixing with SSP leaders during a by-election in Jhang have any effect. The federal government must also be blamed as certain security agencies operating in the province but reporting directly to Islamabad have been lax in their duties. Meanwhile, lack of evidence in court is often cited as the reason for the release of suspects such as the dreaded LJ chief Malik Ishaq.

While Mr Sharif’s acknowledgment of the existence of the problem should be appreciated, he should follow it up with strong and sustained action. ‘Police surveillance’ of the militants alone will not do. The government must refrain from appeasing those linked to militancy and who continue to spread sectarian hatred and religious extremism, even if this stance involves political costs. A crackdown that does not involve ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ will have to be launched against the banned outfits and their activists as well as the seminaries that convert the unsuspecting into hard-line terrorists. We hope his stance that the “war against militancy can be successful only to an extent” is not an indication of his unwillingness to fight militancy in the province.