THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- October 27, 2016- Topic 2
The attack on a
police academy in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s restive
Balochistan province, is the second major terrorist strike in the city in
recent months. In August, 73 people were
killed in a suicide attack at a hospital. This time, the attack
was carried out in a more sophisticated manner. At least three militants
entered the academy and started firing indiscriminately before two of them blew
themselves up. These recurring attacks, particularly in the west and
north-west, threaten to pull Pakistan back to another cycle of violence after a
brief lull. After the 2014 Peshawar school massacre in which 148 people, mostly
children, were killed by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, the army
had launched a large-scale operation against the militant groups operating in
the north-west. After the months-long military and financial crackdown, there
was a sharp fall in the number of attacks last year. But as the attacks in
Quetta and Lahore this year would suggest, the post-Peshawar operation never
defeated the militant groups. They may have retreated in the wake of the
military campaign and are now regrouping themselves.
This resurgence of terror has new
security dimensions. First, the site of the violence this time is Quetta. In
recent years, Balochistan has been the focus of Pakistan’s counter-terror
operations as the province is expected to play a major role in the $46- billion
economic corridor China is building, connecting Gwadar to Xinjiang. Second, if
the only major terror group the Pakistan army had been fighting till a few
years ago was the TTP, an increasing number of groups and offshoots have made
the fight more complex. This week’s Quetta attack, for instance, has been
claimed by three groups — a faction of the TTP; Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a sectarian
militant group, and the Islamic State. The Lashkar claims it cooperated with
the IS to carry out the assault. If true, this opens the possibility for the IS
to operate in Pakistan, where it does not have a strong organisational
presence, through coordination with other terror groups. Responsibility for the
August attack in Quetta was claimed by the Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, a breakaway Taliban
faction, and the IS. This means that the Pakistan establishment has to fight a
many-headed monster if it wants to return order and security to its cities.
Unfortunately, the country has a record of hobnobbing with terrorists for
geopolitical leverage, providing cover to some terrorists to bleed India and
gain influence in Afghanistan. In the absence of a full-fledged fight against
all terrorists, violent groups looking for recruits will find easy pickings in
parts of Pakistan.
Vocabulary
Restive: unable to keep still or silent and becoming increasingly difficult to
control, especially because of impatience, dissatisfaction, or boredom.
Example: No, the workers were not restive , nor were pickets lining up outside.
Synonyms: unruly, disorderly, uncontrollable, unmanageable, willful, recalcitrant
Sophisticated: of a machine, system, or technique developed to a high degree of
complexity.
Example: Highly sophisticated computer systems
Synonyms: advanced, modern, state of the art, the latest, new, up-to-the-minute
Recurring: occur again, periodically, or repeatedly.
Example: When the symptoms recurred, the doctor diagnosed something different
Synonyms: happen again, reoccur, occur again, repeat itself, come
back again
Lull: a temporary interval of quiet or lack of activity.
Example: For two days there had been a lull in the fighting
Synonyms: pause, respite, interval, break, hiatus, suspension, interlude, intermission
Retreated: of an army withdraw from enemy forces as a result of their superior power
or after a defeat.
Example: The French retreated in disarray
Synonyms: withdraw, retire, draw back, pull back/out, fall
back, give way
Resurgence: an increase or revival after a period of little activity, popularity, or
occurrence.
Example: A resurgence of interest in religion
Synonyms: renewal, revival, recovery, comeback, reawakening, resurrection
Offshoot: a side shoot or branch on a plant.
Example: Pistia stratiotes L. Is a free-floating aquatic angiosperm that can
reproduce rapidly by vegetative offshoots from stolons.
Synonyms: side shoot, shoot, sucker, tendril, runner, scion, slip, offset
Breakaway: a divergence or radical change from something established or long standing.
Example: Rock was a breakaway from pop
Monster: an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening.
Example: She was made into a horrid, ugly monster .
Synonyms: giant, mammoth, colossus, leviathan, titan, jumbo
Hobnobbing: mix socially, especially with those of higher social status.
Example: A select few who hobnob with the biggest celebrities the country has to
offer
Synonyms: associate, mix, fraternize, socialize, keep
company, spend time