Terrorist Tactics: Using Civilians As Shields In Pursuit Of Violence – OpEd
The recent report that underground tunnels were used by terrorists in Bajaur is yet another grave reminder of how far these groups can go to continue with violence. These tunnels were built in civilian houses using force, and these were hiding places for weapons and terrorist hideouts.
The tactical use of such locations is a chilled and calculated move, which the terrorists employed: to blend in with the masses of people to avoid detection, and worst of all, to be used as a shield against the deserved response of the state. The fact that they used civilians as human shields is not only indicative of how they do not value human life, but also shows how much they are ready to bend the population to their benefit.
During the operation in Bajaur, security forces discovered large weapon stores hidden in the civilian houses, highlighting the terrorists’ intention to seek safe havens in the civilian facilities to carry out their evil plans. These findings are not isolated events but a clear demonstration of a long-term plan by the terrorists to take advantage of innocent lives to achieve domination. The willingness to use civilians as shields is a strategic attempt to avoid the state response, but in case if state takes measures in some way, which can be exploited to create propaganda and demonize the state, turning the narrative to the benefit of the terrorists. This is a dark warning of how terrorism brings misery to innocents.
Civilian use as a human shield is not just a collateral effect of these operations but a key and focal point of the terrorist scheme. Planting themselves in civilian locations, these groups instigate collateral damage, which can itself be used to stir anti-state sentiment. It is an effective weapon of propaganda, meant to portray the state as the aggressor and the terrorists as people who act with impunity. This manipulation should be identified and combated with more cognizance of the actual tactics being executed. People should realize that whenever civilians are killed in such wars, it is not necessarily because of a military blunder, but calculated moves of terrorists who use human lives as shields and want to affect the innocent for their interests.
Such a strategy is not peculiar to Bajaur; it was also observed in South Waziristan. Security operations have been informed by credible intelligence, where the terrorists surrounded themselves with children to prevent a military response. This is a cowardly strategy that is based on the history of the terrorists, which is another testimony to their complete absence of moral limits. The terrorists want to ensure the killing of civilians by putting children and vulnerable people in the path, which they could then use to their benefit to advance their agenda. Children are also used as shields, which is not only an inhumane act but a manipulation of the situation to avoid justice.
The fact that the terrorists continue to abuse women and children is a clear indication of their total lack of regard for human life. They use their weaknesses to take advantage of the people by using human shields as a survival mechanism. This is a very cynical way of securing them against military action since they can escape responsibility for their actions. It is an action plan, not a chance of war. The terrorist groups are aware of the media’s sensitivity to civilian death and take advantage of it, manipulating the media to justify their actions against the security forces and gain sympathy for their cause.
The fact that the terrorists used human shields only compounds the already challenging security issues that the local communities were going through. It is a strategy that, besides putting civilians in danger, also inverts the image of the war. The general population, both local and foreign, can be naively led to the opinion that the state is the first aggressor, when actually, it is the terrorists who are placing civilians in vulnerable positions. This distortion of public opinion is one of the main elements of the strategy of the terrorists, who want to transfer the blame to the state, not to themselves.
In addition, these terrorists work in civilian locations, which gives even more suffering. Civilians are used as shields, which results in a fearful and fluctuating environment. Laws that are already vulnerable to violence are at even more risk since these are the groups that still utilize them as chess pieces in their violent power games. These terrorists do not care about the well-being of civilians; they just care about advancing their agenda and keeping their survival intact, including taking innocent lives.
The number of victims of terrorists is simply astounding. Their bloody seeking of power has taken the lives of over 94,000 innocent people. This figure is not merely a figure, but it is the loss of fathers, mothers, and children, people who did not start the war but ended up in the attacks of terrorists. The utilization of human life by the terrorists should be seen as it is, a calculated plan to retain power by all means, including the annihilation of whole communities.
To these strategies, the international community, together with the local governments, must come out to expose the reality behind these terror groups. Their employing civilians as truncheons should be considered a war crime, and measures should be taken to avoid the continued use of innocent lives. Simultaneously, the state should not stop its attempts to stabilize the situation in the region and make sure that the manipulative schemes of the terrorists are revealed. Only joint efforts, including those of security forces and the people, can we start breaking the violent agenda of this group and regain peace in the region.
To sum up, the tactic of human shielding by the terrorists is not merely a method; it is the sign of their complete indifference to human lives and their ruthless violence. The people need to realize that they are being played with, and the global community needs to hold these terrorists accountable for their actions. The war against terrorism is not only military; it is also an anti-war of truth, an anti-war of honor for all innocent lives that they systematically target, and an anti-war of the future of a peaceful and stable society.
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