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India-Pakistan
Peshawar bus bombing
2016-03-17
[DAWN] SOON after the military high command announced on Monday that Operation Zarb-e-Azb
..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)...
was being wound down in Fata, turbans struck Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
as a timed device went kaboom! in a bus carrying babus government employees. As per reports, the banned Lashkar-e-Islam
...a group of Islamic bandidos infesting Khyber Agency. It's headed by a former bus driver....
’s supremo Mangal Bagh
...a former bus driver, now head of the Deobandi bandido group Lashkar-e-Islam and the Terror of Khyber Agency...
grabbed credit for yesterday’s atrocity; the bad boy leader ‘justified’ the bombing because of the recent ratification of death sentences by the army chief of convicts linked to the proscribed TTP, as well as the armed forces’ overall efforts against militancy. So while the army leadership is talking of wrapping up combat operations in the tribal belt, there is no reason to assume that the challenge of fighting terrorism in the rest of the country is over. After all, while LI claimed Wednesday’s attack (this is the first act of bad boy violence claimed by the group after a lengthy period), the TTP’s Jamaatul Ahrar
...A Pak Taliban splinter group that split off from the Mullah Fazlullah faction because it wasn't violent enough...
was responsible for the bombing which targeted courts in Charsadda last week. This shows that though the bully boyz might be scattered or on the run, they have not lost their ability to wreak havoc on society.

Those familiar with the area say there is no proper clearance of who is boarding buses meant for babus government employees headed to Peshawar from the districts. This situation needs to be addressed so that vehicles carrying state employees are properly checked for explosives and no unconcerned person is able to board them. Coming to the larger problem of militancy, the military announced after the corps commanders’ conference that intelligence-based operations would be intensified countrywide. After destroying the bad boys’ infrastructure and bases, this is among the best ways to proceed in order to root out holy warrior fighters and their sympathisers across Pakistain and prevent further acts of terrorism. For this, the military must work in tandem with the civilian law-enforcement and intelligence agencies, as they have an ear to the ground in the cities and towns. We must not delude ourselves by assuming that victory against militancy is near; by all indications, this will be a long war. For decades, we let the monster of religious militancy grow. Neutralising it will not be a short-term exercise. Gains have indeed been made in the counterterrorism effort, with the soldiers, and ordinary men, women and kiddies of the country paying a price in blood. But the goal of a terrorism-free country will only be realised if the state continues to counter militancy and extremism with commitment.
Posted by:Fred

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