It would be utterly inhuman to admire the terrorists' resilience in facing the decade-long punishing campaign, but the fact cannot be denied that they have survived, even prospered. And the proof is their murderous attack on the residence of the Frontier Corps' second-in-command in Balochistan, Brigadier Farrukh Shezad, in Quetta on Wednesday morning. Consider, the attack was carried out in the provincial capital's best-protected enclave enjoying the status of a Red Zone.
And that the attack was perfectly timed, closely co-ordinated and was undoubtedly aimed at causing maximum damage, which it did as it took 28 lives including that of a serving FC colonel and about a dozen other security personnel. The wife of Brigadier Farruk Shezad was also killed, as some seventy-plus people suffered injuries. If the claims with regard to responsibility for the devastating attack are to be believed it was revenge killing by the Taliban. As to who was being avenged for there are two different versions; one said the spokesman of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility of the attack to take revenge for the capture of "Mujahideen brothers" by the Pakistan army with the help of US-supplied intelligence. According to the other version, the Hakimullah Mehsud's Taliban took revenge on the FC for its killing of five Chechens at Kharotabad last May. That after so much done to eliminate terrorism the Taliban are still active and seem to have the required determination and wherewithal to settle score with a force as well-equipped and properly honed to tackle miscreants as the FC it's simply mind-boggling.
But clearly there were some lapses on the part of the management that was supposed to have secured the place of the incident. How come two suicide-bombers - there may be their minders present in that area also - wearing lethal jackets and carrying guns and grenades escaped detection by the concerned staff? Then, isn't it intriguing that the terrorists arrived right on dot when FC deputy chief was about to leave his residence for his workplace? Did they have co-operation of some inside informer that is also a question to be asked? But if one is familiar with the working of checkpoints on city roads that operate so frivolously it wouldn't be very difficult to visualise how easily the two suicide-bombers could get to Brigadier Shezad's residence.
How and where the terrorists can get hold of so much of TNT to use against their targets that is also an area which needs a thorough investigation. We hope the concerned agencies and departments would revisit the standard procedures to ensure that they effectively match the ever-changing nature of threat of terrorism. After years of relentless anti-terrorism campaigns we don't seem to be anywhere near to the goal of completely eradicating this curse from our soil. Of course, do come lulls and we feel safe and secure against terrorist attacks but this optimism doesn't last long enough. Something 'big' as is often the case following serious setbacks to terrorist outfits, like the raid on Osama compound, was expected in the wake of capture of al Qaeda's 'foreign minister' Younis al-Mauritani and that took place, adequately proving the fact that threat of terrorism remains strong in Pakistan. Quetta is all the more vulnerable to terrorism as it happens to be the battlefield for a wide variety of clashing interests ranging from sectarian strife to ethnic tension to nationalistic struggle. While the security challenge remains in the provincial capital the means to counter terrorism other than military operation are almost non-existent. Given that Balochistan politics is essentially tribal-based the civilian contribution towards combating terrorism is painfully weak if not completely absent. There is the dire need to expand the area of counter-action, by adding the talk-talk to the fight-fight. If Karachi and the Fata merit the government's sharper focus why Balochistan, which is beset with far more dangerous challenges, is overlooked for other than non-military treatment to wrest it from the rampant uncertainty bordering on total anarchy?