No greater indictment

There could be no greater indictment of the country’s security forces than the highly successful Saturday night attack on PNS Mehran Base by a handful of terrorists. It beats one’s imagination to know that they managed to carry heavy weapons into the base by scaling its wall with the help of ladders, and at just about 10.30pm. It must have taken them time enough for those charged with the base’s security to intercept them before they could launch themselves into action. Were they happily ensconced nearby to spring into action at the time of their choosing or did they carry these weapons passing through the bustling town of Karachi that is not known to sleep any time of the day or the night? In either case, the accusing finger points squarely at the security apparatus that let the nation down so badly that the grievous loss to the defense of Pakistan the attack has caused would be too difficult to make up under the current unhelpful circumstances.

Granted that the terrorist operation has all the makings of a skilled and efficient foreign hand at work, but the security has to be alert to meet all challenges and at any time. The need for alertness is all the greater in this hostile climate when enemies pretend to be friends offering their services to help. Secretary Clinton’s conclusion that the attack on the naval base underlines the need for Pak-US cooperation is a subtle warning not only against any review of the existing arrangement between the two countries, which reduces the level of cooperation, but also against the recent moves of Islamabad to get closer to Beijing. And if we keep in mind the scare of Chinese expanding influence, particularly in this region rich with energy resources, that perpetually haunts the Americans, and the friendship they have acquired of India (for which they went to the extent of violating a cherished international treaty – NPT) in an attempt to checkmate that influence, the picture becomes clearer. New Delhi, our sworn enemy, also figures in the equation of the attack quite prominently. General Aslam Beg seems to be right: India is the biggest beneficiary of our loss of P-3C Orion. It has downed already one of them while it was flying on a peaceful mission.