Terrorists are not halting their attacks in Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Two different terror attacks have already occurred in this month of March.
Last Monday, the military high command announced that Operation Zarb-i-Azb was about to close down in Fata.
“The COAS emphasised, as we move towards conclusion of large-scale kinetic operations in Fata, there is a need to look ahead and consolidate the gains for long-term stability,” an ISPR statement on the meeting said. Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, while chairing a corps commanders meeting at the General Headquarters, called for ensuring that terrorists do not get a foothold in the region again. Talking to the media, military spokesman Lt. General Asim Bajwa underscored that while the operations in Fata were drawing to a close, Zarb-i-Azb as a strategy would continue with intensified IBOs across the country targeting terrorist infrastructure. The meeting was given an overview of the operation in Shawal, which has been continuing since August last year. The troops began the final push for clearing the valley almost three weeks ago. “The COAS expressed his complete satisfaction over the progress of ongoing operation in Shawal and adjoining areas in North Waziristan Agency,” the ISPR statement said.
Soon after this announcement, terrorists killed about 16 government employees in Peshawar on last Wednesday. According to reports, “at least 16 people were killed and dozens wounded when a bomb ripped through a bus carrying Pakistan government workers through one of the main commercial markets of Peshawar. Police said explosives hidden inside a toolbox in the vehicle had apparently been detonated remotely. The privately hired bus brings government employees each day from the neighbouring city of Mardan to Peshawar.
Police superintendent Kashif Zulfiqar said, “About 50 government employees were present inside the bus that was hired to pick them up and carry them to their office in Peshawar”.
The banned Lashkar-i-Islam’s leader Mangal Bagh claimed responsibility for the attack, saying “it is a revenge against the recent ratification of death sentences by the army chief of convicts linked to the proscribed TTP, as well as the armed forces’ overall efforts against militancy.”
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said, “The country is determined to fight such groups. These cowardly attacks cannot shatter our unflinching resolve against terrorism.”
Before this attack, on March 6, terrorists killed at least 17 people in Charsadda.
“At least 17 people were killed in an explosion in the premises of a local court in Charsadda's Shabqadar area on 6 March (Monday). The blast left at least 30 people injured, while two police personnel and a woman were among the dead. The Jamatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack in an email sent to journalists, saying the attack was carried out to avenge the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri, killer of former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer”.
These two different terror attacks manifest the following:-
1: Although the army leadership is talking of wrapping up operations in FATA, these two attacks clearly manifest that the war against terrorism is not yet over. The terrorists might be scattered, but their ability to wreak havoc on society is still there. Their ability to attack must be crushed, if the military wants to win the war against terror.
2: The attacks on courts and buses are not new. Prior to this Charsadda court attack, the militants have attacked many courts across the country. A suicide bomber killed around 25 people, including 17 policemen, outside the Lahore High Court in 2008. In 2014, the Additional Sessions Judge, Shabqadar, narrowly escaped an attempt on his life. The terrorists have also attacked buses carrying government workers twice before. In 2013, the terrorists killed 19 people and injured 42 others when a suicide bomber boarded a bus taking government workers back to their homes. Then in 2012, the militants killed 19 government workers in a bus attack in the same area of Peshawar.
The terrorists are going after low-level government functionaries because they are soft targets. The government should make sure the safety of its workers by checking properly vehicles carrying state employees. No stranger should be allowed to get on the buses.
3: The Charssada court attack not only tells us about the presence of the militants in this area, but also gives a clear message that law-enforcement agencies have failed to eliminate the hide-outs of militants after the Army Public School (APS) andBacha Khan University (BKU) attacks in this area. This attack also manifests that law-enforcement agencies have tried to protect educational institutions by enhancing their security. They have not given much security to other institutions and places. On the part of militants, they have changed their targets from schools to courts. This seems a very cunning move. In fact, the militants want to erode the trust of citizens in the justice system. So, to achieve this target, they have attacked the court premises.
4: Pakistan is in dire need of strong intelligence-based operations against the militants. The military leadership has already announced after the corps commanders’ conference that “intelligence-based operations would be intensified countrywide”. After destroying the militants’ bases and infrastructure, intelligence-based operations are the best way to root out militants and their sympathisers across the country. These kinds of operation will also prevent further acts of terrorism in Pakistan. To achieve success, the military must work with the civilian law-enforcement and intelligence agencies by formulating a centralised intelligence system.
5: We have gained some success against terrorism by following NAP, as the number of attacks in Pakistan has fallen around 70 per cent. “A total of 2,159 terrorists have been killed and 1,724 arrested, data from the interior ministry showed, since NAP was launched following the TTP-claimed attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2014”. The government should implement NAP fully, if it wants to alter the extremist mindset in our society and defeat terrorism fully. There is no other way to turn Pakistan into a terrorism-free country.
Last Monday, the military high command announced that Operation Zarb-i-Azb was about to close down in Fata.
“The COAS emphasised, as we move towards conclusion of large-scale kinetic operations in Fata, there is a need to look ahead and consolidate the gains for long-term stability,” an ISPR statement on the meeting said. Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, while chairing a corps commanders meeting at the General Headquarters, called for ensuring that terrorists do not get a foothold in the region again. Talking to the media, military spokesman Lt. General Asim Bajwa underscored that while the operations in Fata were drawing to a close, Zarb-i-Azb as a strategy would continue with intensified IBOs across the country targeting terrorist infrastructure. The meeting was given an overview of the operation in Shawal, which has been continuing since August last year. The troops began the final push for clearing the valley almost three weeks ago. “The COAS expressed his complete satisfaction over the progress of ongoing operation in Shawal and adjoining areas in North Waziristan Agency,” the ISPR statement said.
Soon after this announcement, terrorists killed about 16 government employees in Peshawar on last Wednesday. According to reports, “at least 16 people were killed and dozens wounded when a bomb ripped through a bus carrying Pakistan government workers through one of the main commercial markets of Peshawar. Police said explosives hidden inside a toolbox in the vehicle had apparently been detonated remotely. The privately hired bus brings government employees each day from the neighbouring city of Mardan to Peshawar.
Police superintendent Kashif Zulfiqar said, “About 50 government employees were present inside the bus that was hired to pick them up and carry them to their office in Peshawar”.
The banned Lashkar-i-Islam’s leader Mangal Bagh claimed responsibility for the attack, saying “it is a revenge against the recent ratification of death sentences by the army chief of convicts linked to the proscribed TTP, as well as the armed forces’ overall efforts against militancy.”
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said, “The country is determined to fight such groups. These cowardly attacks cannot shatter our unflinching resolve against terrorism.”
Before this attack, on March 6, terrorists killed at least 17 people in Charsadda.
“At least 17 people were killed in an explosion in the premises of a local court in Charsadda's Shabqadar area on 6 March (Monday). The blast left at least 30 people injured, while two police personnel and a woman were among the dead. The Jamatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack in an email sent to journalists, saying the attack was carried out to avenge the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri, killer of former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer”.
These two different terror attacks manifest the following:-
1: Although the army leadership is talking of wrapping up operations in FATA, these two attacks clearly manifest that the war against terrorism is not yet over. The terrorists might be scattered, but their ability to wreak havoc on society is still there. Their ability to attack must be crushed, if the military wants to win the war against terror.
2: The attacks on courts and buses are not new. Prior to this Charsadda court attack, the militants have attacked many courts across the country. A suicide bomber killed around 25 people, including 17 policemen, outside the Lahore High Court in 2008. In 2014, the Additional Sessions Judge, Shabqadar, narrowly escaped an attempt on his life. The terrorists have also attacked buses carrying government workers twice before. In 2013, the terrorists killed 19 people and injured 42 others when a suicide bomber boarded a bus taking government workers back to their homes. Then in 2012, the militants killed 19 government workers in a bus attack in the same area of Peshawar.
The terrorists are going after low-level government functionaries because they are soft targets. The government should make sure the safety of its workers by checking properly vehicles carrying state employees. No stranger should be allowed to get on the buses.
3: The Charssada court attack not only tells us about the presence of the militants in this area, but also gives a clear message that law-enforcement agencies have failed to eliminate the hide-outs of militants after the Army Public School (APS) andBacha Khan University (BKU) attacks in this area. This attack also manifests that law-enforcement agencies have tried to protect educational institutions by enhancing their security. They have not given much security to other institutions and places. On the part of militants, they have changed their targets from schools to courts. This seems a very cunning move. In fact, the militants want to erode the trust of citizens in the justice system. So, to achieve this target, they have attacked the court premises.
4: Pakistan is in dire need of strong intelligence-based operations against the militants. The military leadership has already announced after the corps commanders’ conference that “intelligence-based operations would be intensified countrywide”. After destroying the militants’ bases and infrastructure, intelligence-based operations are the best way to root out militants and their sympathisers across the country. These kinds of operation will also prevent further acts of terrorism in Pakistan. To achieve success, the military must work with the civilian law-enforcement and intelligence agencies by formulating a centralised intelligence system.
5: We have gained some success against terrorism by following NAP, as the number of attacks in Pakistan has fallen around 70 per cent. “A total of 2,159 terrorists have been killed and 1,724 arrested, data from the interior ministry showed, since NAP was launched following the TTP-claimed attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2014”. The government should implement NAP fully, if it wants to alter the extremist mindset in our society and defeat terrorism fully. There is no other way to turn Pakistan into a terrorism-free country.
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