Threat from religious extremists
THE Rapid Action Battalion deserves appreciation for relentless pursuit of an important individual of an extremist group and following up the lead provided by him to effect a very important haul up. The action has perhaps preempted a possible bomb attack and devastation, the targets of which only further interrogation of the arrested persons can reveal.
Recovery of a large quantity of explosives and other bomb-making materials from a JMB den in the heart of the city only confirms the impression that merely hanging a few front ranking members of extremists group may not have caused dissipation of either the ranks or the ideology of the religious radical groups.
This was one of several instances of seizures of arms and arrests made after the top leadership of JMB and HUJI were executed following their arrest and trial in 2006. And this confirms our assertion that we cannot rest on the laurels of success because such is the resilience of the deeply motivated extremist cadres, albeit with convoluted ideas, that they find ways and means to bounce back.
What causes us concern in this case is the fact that the extremists are able to ply their business in the heart of the city without ever causing anyone to raise an eyebrow, and also the fact that they continue to receive cash and kind for their anti-state activity.
This brings us to the important question of how to tackle the problem.
It is good to know the government has recently formed a high level committee to address the issue of extremism and terrorism under the state minister for home. We feel that the committee should focus on formulating immediately an appropriate strategy to counter the threat and nullify their operational capability to start with before eradicating them completely in the long run.
We feel that there are two important aspects of a counter terrorism strategy that must be stressed that of involving the people and of demotivating the extremist cadres.
Citizens can serve as rich source of human intelligence through a programme of awareness and sensitising them about things they should be conscious of, and of the need to report any suspicious person or activity to the law enforcing agencies.
Also, given that the extremists are thoroughly motivated, whatever may have been their compulsions to join the ranks of the fanatics, an important element of the government strategy should be to demotivate them by making use of various facilities available to it including the media.
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