THIS is with reference to the report ‘Nine soldiers martyred in Bannu suicide attack’ (Sept 1). Nothing pains us more than the casualties of our armed forces personnel. This is something unacceptable. The high command should have a clear strategy to root out the cause of such incidents.

It appears that terrorists are well-prepared, and that is why they are able to take our security and intelligence apparatus by surprise time and again.

We have armoured personnel carriers, drones and gunships. What is their use if the terrorists are still able to martyr our soldiers? These and such questions are rather disturbing. We need to know what is lacking.

The tragedy of the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar cannot, and should not be forgotten. The martyrdom of our solders is a grim reminder that we have not learnt any lessons. The rule of the thumb would demand that we keep the enemy at arm’s length and use maximum aerial power to pin them down in their hideouts.

Terrorists can be easily spotted and recognised by the locals who can work as informers. The Americans effectively used drones from Tampa military base in Florida; a facility 12,000 miles from Pakistan. Why can we not do it at home?

Safir Siddiqui
Texas, USA

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2023