The military and the civilian government seem to be converging in their opinion of how to deal with terrorists in the tribal areas. As talks with the terrorists have reached a dead end over the last few weeks, the Prime Minister (PM) and the COAS have made several statements expressing their impatience with the process and the militants’ unwillingness to make real concessions in the negotiations process. On Thursday, the PM and COAS met at the PM’s residence in Islamabad to discuss security and the continuing cycle of terrorism that has seen little let up since the talks began in February. Top of the list was an attack on a paramilitary convoy in North Waziristan on Thursday. The soldiers were hit by a roadside bomb that left 12 Frontier Corps (FC) personnel dead and injured several more. Incidents like these and the unwillingness of the terrorists to extend the putative ceasefire that ended on April 10 have made the response the government needs to take increasingly clear and have drawn the civilian and military side closer in their approach. Last week, after appointing a subcommittee to look into the complaints of the government and terrorist negotiating committees, the PM outlined an agenda that he said would present the final stance of the government in negotiations and would seek real gains in the negotiations. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar was reported as saying that the talks needed to make some visible progress soon, otherwise they would have to be taken to their “logical conclusion”. On Martyr’s Day, April 30, in his address General Raheel Sharif sent out a strong message that many believe was directed at the terrorists, saying that “rebels” fighting against the state needed to submit unconditionally to the rule of law or they would be “taken to task” and that a democratic framework was the only way for Pakistan to join the ranks of developed nations. The statement also helped dispel lingering apprehensions of tension between the government and the military over the treason trial of former president General Pervez Musharraf. These are signs that the government and the military are moving towards a decision on how to tackle terrorism if the talks do not produce results very soon.After their meeting on Thursday, both the PM and the COAS were of the view that terrorism and peace talks could not go hand in hand. Attacks against security forces continued during the ‘ceasefire’ and have increased since it ended. Several high profile attacks on security and police officials known for their role in counterterrorism operations have put the security forces on edge. The military has been itching to take on the terrorists and teach them a lesson for attacking its soldiers but has restrained itself while the government tries to find a negotiations strategy. Insiders say that the COAS informed the PM that a policy of inaction would cost the nation a great deal, and that even within the government’s current policy of restraint, containment and retaliation, punitive strikes were logically required in response to the attacks on security personnel. The discussion also focused on certain groups within the tribal areas terrorist organisation that were opposed to peace talks and needed to be ‘neutralised’ if the policy was to have any chance of success. The attempt to distinguish between groups has hit a further stumbling block after bloody infighting amongst the terrorists has made it unclear who the government is negotiating with or if the negotiators have a mandate to speak for the militants as a whole. The sooner the government wakes up to the fact that militancy will not just go away and that tough decisions are needed, the better. Given these statements, it appears we may not have long to wait.*