Extremist infiltration in Pak security set-up must be nipped before it's too late: Editorial

Islamabad, Apr 13(ANI): An editorial in a Pakistan daily has highlighted the extent of the Taliban's infiltration into the country's security infrastructure and risks posed by it.

The Express Tribune editorial titled 'The Enemy Within' stressed the need to identify extremism in the security set-up and stamp it out before it perpetrates maximum damage.

"It is clear that the infiltration by the extremists into the security and administrative set-up goes deep. We need to find a way to conduct a purge, detect these elements and oust them from the heart of our police and other security set-ups before they strike again from the inside, using their positions and knowledge to inflict maximum damage," the editorial said.

It pointed out that the militancy exists in the same security force that aims to eliminate it and referred to a recent development in which Malir District Senior Superintendent of Police Anwar Ahmed Khan, who survived a suicide attack, accused a police inspector, Azam Mehsud and his brother Sherzaman of being involved in it.

The Taliban had subsequently claimed responsibility for the suicide blast, which had killed four people, the editorial said.

It said former Punjab governor Salman Taseer's assassination by his own police guard is yet another reminder of the fallout of entering into a pact with extremists and pointed out that banned extremist groups like Sipah-e- Sahaba Pakistan had tried to influence police and bureaucracy in the 1990s. (ANI)