Pakistan: Unstoppable dimension in suicide bombings

It is hard to imagine that a banned Islamic militants’ outfit, mostly comprising the most religious Pushtun community, can use a young woman to explode human bomb in Bajour agency to meet its agenda. Yet it has happened for the second time in the tribal areas. The first it occurred in December 2010, when burqa-clad woman blew up her explosives at a United Nations Food distribution point in Khar, killing 45 people. The Taliban claimed responsibility of that suicide attack by a woman in the agency. On Saturday, another female suicide bomber, in her early 20s, detonated her explosives outside a hospital in Khar, the main town in the restive Bajaur tribal region, killing at four people dead. Local authorities have found the attacker’s head and legs, and are conducting a detailed investigation. Bajaur is one of seven districts in tribal belt, where Taliban militants have carved out strongholds thus Taliban’s involvement in the latest act of the suicide bombing in Bajour agency cannot be ruled out though the TTP is yet take the responsibility of the bombing. The eye-brows are being raised if Taliban’s morale has gone down so low to rely on their female colleagues to carry their missions. Contrary to all social developments, a young woman can opt to explode in a public place is a new phenomenon, which is not easily digestible under existing culture and traditions. Not easy to detect the female suicide bombing has emerged on the horizon. Regardless of responsibility of the latest bombing episode, the new form of terrorism is the most deadly way to unleash ha voc on human life and property. The police or the political administration will find difficult to detect movement of the female bombers as no administrative measure can be put in place to physically check every female wading streets and roads despite the fact police posts are operative in every nook and corner of the country. Islam does not allow physical inspection and checking of the female members of any family. Even non-Muslim in Pakistan cannot tolerate the physical search of their families; because it is considered sheer disgusting, humiliating and embarrassing under the social norms thus the female suicide bombers will infuse new headache for the law enforcing agencies and the policy-makers alike. Answers to this problem may be many yet the unabated terrorist attacks in the FATA and in other parts of the country are strengthening the general belief that the terrorism is far from being over, and the counter terrorism strategy adopted by the armed forces against Taliban is either weak or ineffective thus has failed curb militants’ advances in Khyber agency and in the settled areas especially Peshawar. Of late, Taliban are frequently hitting their political rivals-cum-targets in the provincial capital of the Khyberpakhtunkhwa, and the security agencies are reeling absolutely clueless. The only satisfaction and the consolation that the nation gets every now and then come from the repeated vows and the announcement from the Chief of Army Staff that Pakistan is fully capable of responding effectively to internal and external threats. The fact is that Pakistan army is concentrating hard on the problem it is facing on the internal front though it is yet to achieve the desired results in the last five years or so. Pakistan has suffered massive loss of life. Still the end to it is not insight. The Pakistan army is bravely fighting against ruthless enemy but the weak political leadership has repeatedly suffered setbacks on the diplomatic front. The time for the compromised approach towards the militants’ activism is gone. The foreign funding for the banned outfits, fighting against the state, is continuously pouring in, and the political leadership in the past and even the caretaker government has failed to take up the issue at every available forum. The crucial election date is approaching fast amidst growing threat of terrorism. The civil and military leadership should put their heads together to chalk out a consensus security mechanism against the terrorism. Apart from taking on the militants only, all the political parties should also play their due role against terrorism of all sorts, and the provincial governments—notably Punjab--should also purge their houses altogether, failing which the innocent people will continue to fall down like dried leaves. International community should take notice of foreign interference in the country before the terrorists spread the deadly activities across the globe.