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Security, as we all know, is one of the basic needs of a citizen. Protecting the lives and property of citizens must be very crucial to the government and every one of us.

What the COAS said is true, to some extent. Politically, it is believed that it is the sole responsibility of government to secure the lives and property of citizens. This is our thought and mentality, but the world has changed. Our thoughts are only applicable to a truly democratic system of government. In our case today, security issues must be in our hands. We must fight anything that stands as a threat to our lives. This can be done in many ways. For instance, when a citizen sees something that could stand as a threat, he or she has the duty to report to security agencies.

He is right, to an extent. We all have our parts to play, by being observant, security conscious and giving information to the security agencies. However, there are people who are employed by the state and paid with taxpayers’ money to secure the people. All the security agencies have a duty and responsibility to protect the lives and property of the citizenry, and any additional effort by individuals are obligatory. Therefore, the Chief of Army Staff should rise up to the challenge of insecurity and confront it headlong and should stop blaming the citizenry for their ineffectiveness. Better still, he should resign if he is running out of ideas to tackle insecurity in the country.