Mosques stained red with blood

EDITORIAL:Daily Times

Terror always seems to be lurking in every nook and corner for the people of Pakistan. Friday, one of Islam’s holy days, has been stained red with blood too many times and the massacre in Darra Adam Khel is no exception. With 67 dead — mercilessly including 11 children — and more than 100 worshippers injured, the suicide attack in Waali Mosque is one of the deadliest this year. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have denied responsibility for the attack, citing it as one carried out by “foreign hands”. Quite a ridiculous claim considering that the TTP’s modus operandi has been to target the masses when they are at their most vulnerable; holy places, whether mosques, shrines or Ahmedi places of worship have been favoured targets for their blood sport. Denying responsibility due to the political fallout of such incidents by no means means that the militants have turned over a new leaf. The fact that the mosque was a regular meeting place for leaders belonging to an anti-Taliban lashkar — none of whom are reported as being amongst the dead — shows the motive that the TTP would have: trying to silence opposing voices.

Darra Adam Khel was not enough for the militants. Another mosque in the Badaber area of Peshawar was attacked with hand grenades tossed inside the mosque’s compound. Four fatalities, some 24 injured. With a slight lull in the terror storm, Pakistan was beginning to harbour illusions that the militants had been restrained. However, this seems more like a deliberate pause on the terrorist’s part as the attack at Darra Adam Khel has seen them come out once again in full force. Also, we should not assume that the militants are confined to carrying out their activities in just FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — where a cluster of attacks have taken place — as terror cells have been shown to exist throughout the country. More vigilance is needed and more resources need to be given to those who are entrusted with law enforcement in areas sensitive to terror attacks. Local police and security apparatus need to be on even higher alert, especially when gatherings in places of worship convene. It is imperative to pre-empt such attacks before they happen and that is why our intelligence agencies need to step up. Otherwise, once a suicide bomber is deployed, he is almost unstoppable.

The militants have been on the receiving end of a pounding by army offensives and massive US aerial drone strikes, of late concentrated in North Waziristan (NW). A recent report by the Wall Street Journal indicates that these strikes are forcing the insurgents to find sanctuaries elsewhere, particularly in Kurram and Orakzai Agency, where they are said to be regrouping. Another view also exists, one that claims the militants are being allowed to leave, rather than being forced. With the army’s policy of saving the Afghan Taliban for a rainy day, it is said that the militants are being given safe passage to leave NW and relocate before a full-scale operation is launched. If this is true, the military should not be surprised if terror attacks continue. *