The capture of Abdur Rahman brings to four the number of JMB Majlis-e-Shura (executive council) members who are now behind bars, and the hope is that his capture will uncover enough information to track down the three who remain at large and also deal a body blow to the group's ability to organize and foment terror operations.

I hope it would not be considered too churlish to point out that the capture of the head of JMB is long overdue given the fact that the organization was banned one year and one week ago, and that its major operations, from the August 17 serial bomb blasts to the spate of suicide bombings that took place last year, have occurred after it had supposedly been banned.

Nevertheless, the law enforcement authorities are to be commended for the efficiency and professionalism of the operation that nailed Rahman and also for the fact that the terrorists have not been able to strike for the last three months.

The success of the law enforcement operation to capture Rahman suggests that the anti-extremists within the administration are slowly gaining the upper hand in the government's intra-mural battle, and that the supporters of the extremists within the administration who had been instrumental in sponsoring and sheltering them are finding themselves increasingly isolated.

There is no question that this is a good sign, both for the country and for the ruling alliance. The benefit to the nation at large lies not merely in the fact that we can now expect the JMB terror threat to have diminished considerably, in itself cause for relief and celebration, but that freeing ourselves from this concern that at one time threatened to become all-consuming permits us to turn our attention to the outstanding issues on which we need to be focused in an election year.

We have plenty to concentrate on, plenty of crises that need desperate and immediate attention, without having the additional and uniquely dire threat of terrorism that is aimed at the destruction of our democratic polity and the creation of a theocratic state to deal with.

The issue of election reform (and perhaps care-taker government reform) is finally being addressed in parliament, a development all the more welcome for the fact that what is really at stake in these discussions being held under the rather anodyne rubric of "reform" is the continuing functionalism of our democracy.

At a more nuts and bolts level, the economy, even though macro-economic fundamentals remain in fair shape and GDP growth is expected to remain strong, is experiencing a number of shocks that have already had a disproportionately negative impact on the rural economy and the working classes and that threaten to plunge the country into full-blown crisis over the next few months.

Frankly, we do not have the luxury to subordinate all of our other concerns to dealing with terror as an all-encompassing and singular threat to our nation's well-being.

The sooner that terror can be taken off the nation's agenda, so that we can get back to the business of lifting people's standard of living and erasing the inequalities that have helped give rise to the terrorism in the first place, the better.

The timing of the economic distress that is now showing signs of taking hold of the rural economy could not be worse for the administration. Despite the government's many missteps over the past four and a half years, the economy has, by and large, done reasonably well. There have been areas of under-performance, such as steep inflation in the price of essentials, especially in the north, that have hurt select constituencies, but the malaise is now set to hit its five-year high.

The current crises in power, fuel, and fertilizer are creating a perfect storm in the agricultural sector and rural economy that could do far more to harm the reputation of the administration among the voting public than the rise of the terror threat during its tenure ever did.

The fact that the brewing crisis within the agricultural sector is coming at a time when the prices of essentials continues to spiral out of control has the makings of a serious problem for the government.

The government's inability to provide power, fuel, and fertilizer to farmers in a timely manner has ensured that there will be a serious short-fall in boro production this year. The fact that farmers have been reduced to breaking into fertilizer depots, barricading roads, and besieging local government offices, and that more than ten were shot dead in January in Kansat when they had the temerity to demonstrate for a stable supply of electricity to be able to operate their irrigation pumps and threshing machinery should be giving the government far more cause for concern that it has done so far.

Dismissing the very real hardships that millions of farmers are now facing as fabrications of the media and the opposition is both appallingly insensitive and politically suicidal.

If the boro harvest fails to meet expectations, as is now virtually assured, due to the government's high-handed, tone deaf, and incompetent handling of the situation, then millions of rural households will find themselves in enormous difficulty within a few months, the nation's foreign currency reserves will be depleted due to the need to import vast quantities of rice from abroad, and the inflationary pressure on essentials will continue to rise.

The short-fall in water and electricity that has already crippled the country will only get worse in the summer months ahead, when the gap between supply and demand of electricity is estimated to reach 1,800 megawatts.

I am not even sure whether this estimate takes into account that 2006 is a World Cup year and that electricity consumption is sure to spike from June 9 to July 9. Even if the nation didn't really bat much of a collective eye-lid over the shooting dead of protesters in Kansat, I can assure you that if anything gets in the way of their World Cup viewing that that will make people sit up and take notice, if not to the streets in protest.

There is no doubt that the capture of Abdur Rahman is the best news for the country in a long time. I sincerely hope that it will soon be followed by the capture of JMB's operations commander Siddiqul Islam and the remaining members of the group's executive council, and that the JMB terror threat can be completely and thoroughly extinguished.

For anyone who cares for the country and for the right to live free of fear, the decimation of JMB would be cause for celebration in and of itself. But let us also not overlook the benefit of removing the terror threat from the political calculus. The continued spectre of terror in the background has permitted both government and opposition to pay less than merited attention to the other, and dare I say more pressing, issues of the day.

Because, make no mistake about it, aside from terrorism, the country right now faces very serious threats to its well-being, and we all need to get back to the business of creating a healthy and functional democracy and economy without any further delay.

Zafar Sobhan is Assistant Editor, The Daily Star.