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There was an intelligence report based on intercepts that the militants could try and attack the ruling Awami National Party (ANP) public meeting in Nowshera on Monday using two explosives-packed vehicles, but in the end they could only manage to trigger an explosion through a motorcycle parked outside the venue.
The blast didn’t harm any party leader, but four participants of the meeting were killed and another 45 were wounded. The image of old men being brought to the Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar for treatment was painful.
Informed sources said the police had reservations about holding the public meeting due to security concerns even though it was being staged in a ground inside a government school. Police officials had told the ANP leaders on the morning of the meeting about the intelligence report, but it was too late to cancel the well-publicised event.
Besides, the ANP had held a number of big public meetings in recent months in Swabi, Charsadda, Mardan, Peshawar and elsewhere without being attacked. An ANP public meeting was also held some weeks ago in Hakimabad in Nowshera. This had given the ANP and its government the confidence to organise more such meetings.
Senator Afrasiab Khattak, the ANP provincial president, said he saw a cloud of smoke and dust rising from the ground soon after the helicopter took off for Peshawar. He added: “I said this is a bomb explosion. Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti was sitting facing me in the helicopter and when he turned around and looked down he too said it was a bomb blast.”
Earlier, the ANP leaders had walked the short distance to the helipad from the venue of the public meeting. Eyewitnesses said many participants of the public rally had stopped to watch the helicopter take-off and this probably saved lives, as they would have otherwise walked towards the place where the explosion took place.
According to Afrasiab Khattak, the participants became excited and more responsive when the chief minister announced a very generous development package for Nowshera in response to the welcome address presented by ANP District President Ihrar Khattak. He announced reconstruction of the Nowshera-Charsadda Road, a cadet college to be built on the boundary between Nowshera and Charsadda districts, 30 more primary schools in addition to 40 announced earlier, and some other projects. Nobody knew that the happiness generated by the chief minister’s announcements would be short-lived as a tragedy was waiting to happen.
This was the second time that Afrasiab Khattak escaped unharmed in a terrorist attack. Earlier, he had survived a bomb explosion in Nahqi village near Shaqbadar in Charsadda district on February 9, 2008 during the general election campaign. The bombing had killed 27 people and injured over 50. Most of them were ANP workers and supporters.
Chief Minister Hoti hasn’t been attacked in the past, but he is certainly on the hit list of militants. Extraordinary security for him as the chief executive of the province seems to have prevented the militants from reaching and attacking him.
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) promptly claimed responsibility for the Nowshera bombing and it was obvious that the chief minister, Afrasiab Khattak, Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain and other ANP leaders were the target.
The Nowshera attack showed that the TTP and its affiliates are continuing to plot and execute attacks against the ANP, a secular and nationalist party that has openly challenged the militants and backed the military operations against them in Malakand division and in the tribal areas.
While making its claim of responsibility, the TTP reminded that it has been warning the people to stay away from the ANP meetings to avoid harm. As it has threatened more attacks against the ANP leadership, the party would have to figure out how to continue its political activities without risking the lives of its leaders, workers and common people.
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