Rab's revised list

The Rab has revised the list of missing persons, where the number of such individuals has been reduced to 68 from the previous 265. While we are relieved by this drastic fall in number yet the question persists: Is this the right number?

While we are glad that the number of listed militants has dropped to 68, there is no doubt that even this is quite a formidable number assuming these individuals are well-trained and fanatical in their belief in killing and self-destruction. It is therefore crucial that our law enforcement and other security forces use all their resources and intelligence to trace these suspects as we have seen in the recent operation that successfully neutralised nine militants and captured one alive. Such endeavours have to be accelerated and based on accurate information which makes having an authentic list of suspected militants, all the more important. 

That said we must also point out that whether we like it or not, there still exists a significant distance between the public and the police in terms of credibility. Terrorism can only be fought if the public and the police work together and for that mutual trust and respect are essential. So the law enforcement agencies must be very conscious of the fact that apart from matters that are classified for security reasons, whatever they say to the public must be beyond reproach and the truth which has not been always the case in the past.