The army is fighting the scourge of terrorism with exceptional fervour and tenacity. But this is at the cost of hundreds of casualties and injuries to our security forces. War is not a game play. Certainly it takes lives and inflicts losses. Our jawans and officers have given sacrifices. They have withstood the Taliban terror and fought it with endurance and fortitude. They have avoided collateral damage at the cost of their own lives. They have shown that when a terrorist uses human shield to protect himself, the jawans do not take life of the civilian to get the terrorist. Swat is a great victory for our forces but their detractors are feeling upset at the soaring esteem and image of the Army. They have started floating a wicked story of extra-judicial killings and mass graves. The saddest part is that these rumours were started by our own people, a segment of which has gone astray. There is still a segment of population here that doesn't consider the local Taliban the bad guys. -SHER KHAN, Mardan, via e-mail, August 21.