Pakistan is mourning again. This time the carnage was in Quetta, where a suicide bomber struck at the city’s Civil Hospital to kill at least 70 people. Most of the victims were lawyers, who had brought a gunned down senior colleague to the hospital.
As pointed out at media forums, an entire generation of lawyers has been wiped out from the volatile city of Quetta. Like on most previous occasions, this tragedy in Pakistan has received limited global coverage from international figures. Frequent occurrences of such devastation in Pakistan makes one ponder as to when will this vicious cycle of violence end? What is the government doing to help its citizens feel protected and lead a normal life?
As expected, both the government and opposition ranks have shown unity in condemning this brutal attack. A splinter group of the Taliban, and even Daesh, has claimed responsibility for the bombing. However, Pakistan has hinted that the Indian spy agency RAW and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Service may have collaborated with local militants to carry out the terrorist attack.
The official statement is that the bombing was aimed at derailing investment and development in the country under the much- touted China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This is not the first time that a foreign hand has been accused of backing terrorism in Pakistan. In particular, years of neglect and political grievances set a perfect background for Pakistan’s enemies to instigate insurgency, sectarianism and extremism in Balochistan. Yet, the government has done so little to remove these genuine concerns of its most backward province.
This act of terrorism is a reminder for us that we are still a long way from uprooting this evil from our society. As Sharif government struggles in the face of an agitation movement by opposition, we have failed to learn vital lessons from previous deadly attacks. The politicians, military commanders and civil society need to do more than voicing concern over these cowardly attacks on civilians. All stakeholders are obligated to fulfill their national duties toward implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). Even if it is assumed that these nefarious plans are hatched abroad, it must be remembered that they are facilitated and executed by local groups. Therefore, there is an urgent need to gather more information about these terrorist networks, and apprehend their accomplices and financiers.
To a large extent, such attacks place a question mark over the effectiveness of Pakistan’s ground intelligence. To win the war against terrorism, there is a dire need to focus on strengthening intelligence operations to gain an upper hand on other foreign operatives that may be present in Pakistan, especially the restive area of Balochistan. At the same time, the political leadership needs to show seriousness in achieving progress on NAP. While it may not be fair to dismiss NAP as an outright failure, it for sure has not been able to show the desired results. A complete ban on all extremist organizations, restructuring of the country’s police force and revision of educational curriculum are some basic expectations from the political administration. Peace will remain an illusion unless genuine efforts are made collectively to fulfill NAP promises.
As pointed out at media forums, an entire generation of lawyers has been wiped out from the volatile city of Quetta. Like on most previous occasions, this tragedy in Pakistan has received limited global coverage from international figures. Frequent occurrences of such devastation in Pakistan makes one ponder as to when will this vicious cycle of violence end? What is the government doing to help its citizens feel protected and lead a normal life?
As expected, both the government and opposition ranks have shown unity in condemning this brutal attack. A splinter group of the Taliban, and even Daesh, has claimed responsibility for the bombing. However, Pakistan has hinted that the Indian spy agency RAW and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Service may have collaborated with local militants to carry out the terrorist attack.
The official statement is that the bombing was aimed at derailing investment and development in the country under the much- touted China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This is not the first time that a foreign hand has been accused of backing terrorism in Pakistan. In particular, years of neglect and political grievances set a perfect background for Pakistan’s enemies to instigate insurgency, sectarianism and extremism in Balochistan. Yet, the government has done so little to remove these genuine concerns of its most backward province.
This act of terrorism is a reminder for us that we are still a long way from uprooting this evil from our society. As Sharif government struggles in the face of an agitation movement by opposition, we have failed to learn vital lessons from previous deadly attacks. The politicians, military commanders and civil society need to do more than voicing concern over these cowardly attacks on civilians. All stakeholders are obligated to fulfill their national duties toward implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). Even if it is assumed that these nefarious plans are hatched abroad, it must be remembered that they are facilitated and executed by local groups. Therefore, there is an urgent need to gather more information about these terrorist networks, and apprehend their accomplices and financiers.
To a large extent, such attacks place a question mark over the effectiveness of Pakistan’s ground intelligence. To win the war against terrorism, there is a dire need to focus on strengthening intelligence operations to gain an upper hand on other foreign operatives that may be present in Pakistan, especially the restive area of Balochistan. At the same time, the political leadership needs to show seriousness in achieving progress on NAP. While it may not be fair to dismiss NAP as an outright failure, it for sure has not been able to show the desired results. A complete ban on all extremist organizations, restructuring of the country’s police force and revision of educational curriculum are some basic expectations from the political administration. Peace will remain an illusion unless genuine efforts are made collectively to fulfill NAP promises.
