Close circuit camera video pictures show the terrorists well dressed and trained to operate the AK-47s. They used rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles. They knew their targets and easily made their way out after carrying out the attack.  Official reports indicate that about 12 gunmen were involved in the attack in the cultural capital of Pakistan.
 
The attackers had left behind their backpacks while escaping.  Perhaps, this is to divert the investigators to wrong leads.  Hence, the culprits could not be identified.

Lahore and several other cities of Punjab have been witnessing increased militancy in recent months.  Local terrorist elements, masquerading as the Taliban, are seen attacking music shops and beauty parlors and collecting taxes.
 
On Feb 8, while appearing on the TV, chief minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif (since deposed) was seen shaken over the terror strikes in Dera Ghazi Khan and Mainwali on previous two days.  Dera Ghazi Khan blast claimed 32 lives while two persons were killed when armed men attacked a check post in Mianwali’s Qudratabad area.

Earlier, a youth blew himself up at the High Court building in Lahore minutes before the lawyers’ rally was to pass through the same spot.  Twenty two people were killed, 17 of them policemen.  Investigations have revealed that the suicide bomber had instructions to target the police and not the lawyers.

As the police are increasingly being targeted, they carried out a series of raids in February and arrested several ‘prospective’ suicide-bombers and connected terrorists from Isa Khel, Mainwali, Bhakkar, Sargodha and Lahore.  These arrests invited the wrath of Taliban and police have reportedly received death threats from Kaleemullah Mehsud, who claims to be an associate of Baitullah Mehsud, the notorious Taliban leader in the NWFP.

Pak media have been reporting a spurt in the movement of armed gangs in rural and urban Punjab alike. Describing themselves as the Taliban, these armed gangs have been imposing their code of dress and social norms.   The media has documented how the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Hafiz ul Saeed and his group managed to hoodwink the authorities to defy sanctions and recruited thousands of young men.  The group’s posters are seen all over Punjab urging youth to join jihad.  The LeT and other outfits like Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) have claimed to have recruited more than 15,000 youth. Surprisingly most of them are not students of Madrasas but regular schools and colleges.  While waiting for their turn for duty after their training, some of them have joined sectarian outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Sipah-e-Sabah (SeS).

Post-26/11 UN sanctions, Jamaat ud Dawa (new name of LeT) has closed down many of its training camps and under-cover charities. It asked the inmates to ‘dissolve’ into crowds for the present. It is these groups who are creating havoc in the Punjab countryside.  Their activities should have attracted the attention of authorities.  Alas it was not the case with political turmoil rocking Punjab and no clear chain of authority in matters of security. The dismissal of chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, after the Supreme Court disqualified him, has put the Punjab security apparatus in a state of ‘inaction’.

The recent Mumbai attacks by their fellow- LeT gunmen may have inspired the trained ‘jihadis’ to launch a similar, spectacular show and demonstrate their capability to the world.  The ease with which these jihadis quickly melted, after the attack, into the suburbs of the city reflect their intimacy with the topography and logistics of the area.
The NWFP Governor Owais Ghani warned in September that the militants from the tribal areas have established firm networking with the jihadi groups in southern Punjab and most fresh recruits for suicide attacks are coming from there.  His advisory came after a number of suspects were detained in Punjab in connection with the Marriott hotel bombing.

Cautioned Ghani, ‘It will be ill-advised to think that the militancy will remain confined to the NWFP. Militants have already shifted to the settled areas and Punjab and they have established strong links with south Punjab.  It’s a national issue, a question of survival for entire Pakistan’.
 
Turn of events show the Governor’s warning fell on deaf ears.

A high level Pakistani team, comprising the Foreign Minister, the Army Chief, the ISI chief and head of the Military Operations (MI) was in Washington last week for consultations with President Obama’s security team.  They were apparently successful in convincing the ‘naïve’ American establishment that the Pakistan Taliban is local problem and the recently signed ‘Sharia’ peace agreement with a Sufi cleric in Swat was a ‘local solution to a local problem’.  Help us with liberal funding in your own larger interest, the team told the Americans and they agreed to the request.

How the eagle eyed Americans glossed over the fine print on the deal particularly the provision that empowers the Taliban to select local ‘Qazis’ (judges). It can be no body’s case that the Taliban would opt for judges steeped in British or American jurisprudence. The deal is a sure invitation to spread Taliban brand of justice and religious outlook.

Now as the Americans are getting into the act of drafting necessary ‘funding’ legislation for Congress approval, three rival Pakistani Taliban groups have agreed to form a ‘united front’ against US forces in Afghanistan.  This unity is the direct result of a letter from Mullah Omar, asking Pak militants to ‘stop fighting at home’ in order to join the battle to “liberate Afghanistan from the occupation forces”.

Whatever be the prognosis of Americans, the peace treaty and the Taliban unity will lead to increased militancy, and terrorist violence with civilians facing the brunt of it.  The Tuesday attack on Sri Lankan cricketers is part of this growing malady. Talibanisation is no longer creeping in Pakistan. In fact, the stage of creeping is over a long while ago. It is simply growing in Pakistan under the very nose of the government. It does not augur well for Pakistan, this region and the world at large.  The international community must put its collective act together and apply the corrective before it is too late.