Suicide bombing is not a new phenomenon in Pakistan, but after many years, the bombers have begun to target major cities. Policeman Adeel Hussain was killed and five other officers were critically injured when a cab carrying of gunpowder exploded in Sector I-10 of the federal capital Islamabad. The harm that an explosion would cause if it happened in a heavily populated area can be estimated, so the civic and military leadership should give it considerable thought and come up with a sound plan to deal with this problem. The aspirations of terrorists, as well as those who support and enable them, should be destroyed.
The explosion was so powerful that it caused a rush and fear in the surrounding neighbourhood. The police officers arrived at the scene as soon as they received the information. The area was sealed off, and all non-related vehicle traffic was halted. Rescue teams, police, and other law enforcement authorities also arrived on the scene, and investigations were launched with the assistance of CCTV cameras located in the surrounding locations.
As is customary following an explosion, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sought a report denouncing the suicide bombing in Islamabad, paid tribute to the killed head constable Adeel Hussain in the tragedy, and stated that the police officers stopped the terrorists by donating their blood. Following the explosion in the federal capital, security has been increased in the Rawalpindi district. Friday prayer meetings were also held under severe security, with all entries and exits of Islamabad’s twin city blocked. According to the spokesperson for the Islamabad Capital Police, prompt action averted the city from a massive terrorist strike. The attackers intended to explode in a densely populated place in order to attack the police and the general people.
The federal capital explosion is linked to terrorist acts carried out by the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Previously, immediately after the Taliban government was established in Afghanistan, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan assured the government of Pakistan that the territory of Afghanistan would not be used for subversive activities against Pakistan, but the assurance proved ineffective when the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which had taken refuge in Afghanistan, began terrorist activities in Pakistan and targeted various areas of Pakistan. Pakistan also lodged a formal protest with the Afghan government and met with Afghan officials.
Recently, key civil and military officials, academics, and elders from both sides attended a flag meeting that the civil and military authorities convened with the Afghan defence officials. In addition, Chaman and Spinboldak’s deputy commissioners were present. An agreement was stated to settle border tension and other issues, including terrorism, through mutual dialogue at this Jirga-style conference, but this meeting similarly produced no notable outcomes. Islamabad’s blast is evidence of this. It is well known that the Afghan government has adopted a hostile stance toward Pakistan as a result of the Modi government of India and TTP’s influence.
However, after the Afghan government was established, Pakistan took an unusually cordial approach to forging friendly ties with it. At the diplomatic level, efforts were made to locate his frozen assets in the US. Pakistan offered the required aid in response to Afghanistan’s food and medication shortages while also making serious attempts to gain international recognition for the Afghan government. The Security Council and the UN took the necessary steps to prepare the way for it, but not all of these initiatives received the same weight. The illegal Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan began carrying out terrorist acts in various parts of Pakistan as a result of the Afghan government’s refusal to cooperate. By assaulting locations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies covertly at night, this terrorist group directly attacked the Pakistan Army and caused casualties and damage to property.
The military leadership of Pakistan has also begun punitive operations to stop these terrorist acts and punish the terrorists. The security forces carried out an operation against the terrorists last Wednesday, killing 25 of them. The military leadership of Pakistan is committed to ending the threat of terrorism and has developed a plan to hunt down and fully eliminate terrorists at their bases of operations. The Indian government has also been urged by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to stop supporting terrorism and foster a favourable climate for communication between the two nations. In these conditions, the Pakistani government will have to confront the UN and other international bodies about India’s covert support for terrorism in Pakistan while simultaneously reviewing its internal security measures. The civil administration and security authorities must respond immediately to any act of terrorism in a sensitive region like Islamabad. The ease with which terrorists were able to infiltrate such a sensitive place demonstrates that forces opposed to the security of the nation are being given the chance to exploit Pakistan’s political unrest. The nation was spared from potentially suffering a significant loss of life and property by stopping the car. There is no doubt that the fire of terrorism would not be limited to Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Islamabad following the suicide assault by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in Islamabad. If the administration and state institutions do not take the situation seriously, scenarios like 2014 will reoccur in the country. The state institutions are running out of time.
