Some people might be misguided by the thought that the menace of terrorism in Pakistan was successfully crushed to the roots a few years back and after the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan things have become quite normal but actually the situation is not that way. Terrorists and terrorism both are still alive; it seems they had hibernated themselves for a very short period of time. Once again, they are out of their short sleep and ready to ‘do more’.
The recent bomb attack on a mosque in Peshawar on January 30 seems the beginning of a fresh wave of terrorist activities in Pakistan. The terrorists have chosen a time when Pakistan is passing through the toughest period of its history with a lot of political and economic instability. Different experts on security affairs were already apprehending occurrence of such incidents. It is also being feared that more episodes of the same type could take place in near future. Certainly the law-enforcement agencies will have to be more active and more vigilant against the peace-destroyers.
Even the last year hasd not been very peaceful regarding terrorist activities in Pakistan. According to a think-tank based in Islamabad, The Pak Institute for Peace Studies, Pakistan had to face 254 militant attacks in 2022. More than 400 Pakistanis lost their lives in these attacks. The Arab News said, referring to the report prepared by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies that ‘The toll is significantly higher than last year 2021, when 335 people were killed by militants in 207 incidents, and in 2020, when 146 attacks killed 220.’ The most affected area had been Balochistan where foreign-patronized terrorists targeted security forces and particularly the Chinese nationals working on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. which is a multibillion-dollar project having a lot of possibility of strengthening Pakistan’s economy. Attacks on the Chinese nationals certainly affected the work on the CPEC project as hovering security threats make things very difficult for the foreigners working on different development projects. It seems that the sole target of all terrorist activities was nothing but to create hurdles in the way to completion of the CPEC.
Now the beginning of 2023 does not seem very pleasant and hopeful with reference to the terrorist activities in Pakistan, specifically in Baluchistan and KPK. On January 18, according to the Voice of America, a militant attack from across the Iranian side of the border had killed four Pakistani soldiers.The attack took place in the remote Panjgur district in southwestern Baluchistan province. Sources say that the terrorists used Iranian soil to target a convoy of security forces patrolling along the border. The government of Pakistan, just after the incident, asked the Iranian side to hunt down the terrorists on their side.
Whatever happened there at the Pak-Iran border was certainly very much unexpected and disappointing even for the Iranian government and the Iranian embassy in Islamabad strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Pakistani troops but this act of condemnation is not the solution to the problem. Without looking into the matter in detail, such incidents might reoccur in near and far-future.Panjgur district of Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province is an area which borders Iran and Afghanistan. The area surrounding Panjgur had always been terrorists’ hot favourite. In 2019, both Pakistan and Iran had expressed their desire to form a joint quick reaction force to counter and combat militant activities along the border. Unfortunately that desire has yet not been materialized.
Though no terrorist group has yet claimed the responsibility of bloodshed in Panjgur, 0n 19 December 2022, in another incident of the same type four members of Iran’s security forces were killed in a firefight near the Pakistan border. The killed ones were members of The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. These four were killed after a fight with an unnamed terrorist group, said Aljazeera, referring to a statement released by the Iranian state media. The incident reportedly took place in Saravan, in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, near the Pakistani border. The attackers allegedly fled to Pakistan when IRGC ground forces repelled the assault.
The situation in Afghanistan is also deteriorating with reference to the terrorist activities. Last year on September 23, several people were killed and dozens more wounded when a car bomb went off at a mosque in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. The worshippers streaming out of the mosque after the ‘afternoon’ prayers were targeted. According to Aljazeera, gunshots rang out several minutes after the explosion in the Wazir Akbar Khan area which is the location of many foreign embassies and NATO. More than 15 people were killed and 41 wounded in that incident. Earlier on 18 August 2022,a huge explosion ripped through the crowded mosque during evening prayers, injuring 33 people and killing another 21. Prior to that in April 2022, two boys’ schools were targeted in western Kabul. The targeted schools were Abdul Rahim Shahid high school and the nearby Mumtaz Education Centre, both located in the Dasht-e-Barchi area. More than ten students were killed and around 30 seriously wounded.
In short, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, are all facing the worst situation regarding terrorist activities. In the present scenario, any type of blame game would simply add to the gravity of the situation. Be it Afghanistan or Iran or Pakistan; terrorism is in the benefit of no one. We all will have to join our efforts with all possible devotion and dedication to curb this menace. The government of Afghanistan will have to play the most active role in resolving the situation as a consistent peaceful atmosphere is the most required and most needed element for the stability and firmness of that war-torn country.
The point to remember is that the flames of terrorism never remain limited to some particular area or some specific region; they are like a pandemic which goes on and moves on from one place to another. We must never forget the Twin-Towers tragedy which was the most horrible episode in the long series of terrorist activities. The USA and all other ‘superpowers’ must step forward and try to ‘Do More’ against the terrorists and terrorism.
The point to remember is that the flames of terrorism never remain limited to some particular area or some specific region; they are like a pandemic which goes on and moves on from one place to another. We must never forget the Twin-Towers tragedy which was the most horrible episode in the long series of terrorist activities. The USA and all other ‘superpowers’ must step forward and try to ‘Do More’ against the terrorists and terrorism.
