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March 29, 2024
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Lahore
EditorialPlaying with fire

Playing with fire

Two terror attacks in one day should send alarm bells ringing in the twin cities. The first attack occurred earlier in the day on Saturday, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district where two policemen were reported to be martyred in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack. The second took place in Balochistan’s Nawa Killi area where at least seven people, including a policeman, were injured. According to police officials, around three to four kilograms of explosive material, fitted to a motorcycle was used in the blast that occurred near a police mobile. No militant outfit had claimed the responsibility of either of the attacks until the time of writing. But the motive of the attacks was one – creating terror in Pakistan by targeting the law enforcement agencies (LEAs).

Going by the target of the blast in K-P, we cannot rule out the involvement of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – the same terrorist outfit the government is currently in talks with. The militant group has targeted the LEAs in the recent attacks it had claimed responsibility for. The area also served as the base of the group until a few years ago, when the Pakistan Army stated that it had cleared it of the fighters. However, it was reported in the past week that a month-long ceasefire had been agreed upon between the government and the TTP, during the talks mediated by Afghanistan. During the war-torn country’s interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to Islamabad, the FM mentioned that he was content with the talks between this country and the TTP and hoped that it would bear “positive” result. If that indeed is the case, then Pakistan needs to worry about the possibility of a new enemy.

The reality is that the incidents of terror attacks in the country have risen in the recent past. Just last month, a roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying security forces and martyred four policemen in Bajaur. The same month 17 people were injured, while a policeman martyred, in a blast near Balochistan University. Despite Prime Minister Imran Khan mentioning his desire to talk to ‘angry Balochs’ in the region to listen to their grievances, no active efforts have been made in this regard. The power corridors in the twin cities need to move fast because the rise in terror attacks is creating a sense of panic among the public, especially at the backdrop of talks with the TTP.

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