AMID constant reminders about the need to work diligently under the National Action Plan, there is some activity against militants in Punjab since the killing of the provincial home minister Shuja Khanzada in a suicide attack two months ago.

Frequently, there are reports of police and the intelligence agencies targeting suspected militants linked to terrorist outfits in different parts of the province from Rahim Yar Khan at one end to Rawalpindi on the other.

Most raids on the hideouts of suspected militants are said to be conducted on the basis of ‘credible intelligence’ that has been collected by different agencies, particularly the ISI.

Yet some eyebrows have been raised over the ‘collateral damage’ that some raids have left in their wake.

A raid by the provincial counterterrorism force on the hideout of a suspected militant linked to the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi in a village on the outskirts of Rawalpindi late Wednesday night resulted in six fatalities.

Among the dead were two minor boys and an elite force commando.

Police claim the suspect and commando were killed when two women present lobbed hand grenades at the raiding party. It was asserted they then blew themselves up together with the two children by detonating a suicide jacket.

Some reports suggest that an exchange of gunfire between the suspects and police also followed three explosions. What actually happened may never emerge because the law-enforcement and intelligence agencies tend to keep the details of such raids to themselves.

There is an ongoing debate about how far ‘collateral damage’ can be prevented. But the fact remains that some more planning and care can help avert the loss of innocent lives, especially when it is being claimed that an operation is being conducted on the basis of foolproof intelligence.

One big purpose of intelligence is to isolate the suspects as far as possible before they are approached.

With the fight against terrorism and militancy likely to expand to the more populated urban and semi-urban areas of Punjab, the chances of greater collateral damage must be minimised by adhering to the old rule about isolation and strike.

This is a very sensitive topic and there is a cogent argument for pursuing militants aggressively and speedily. However, since allegations of a force overreaching itself in the heat of the moment are common, it will also be in the interest of fair and clean operations that the planners tread with caution.

Published in Dawn, October 17th , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play