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| India-Pakistan |
| KP attacked again |
| 2016-09-03 |
| [DAWN] KHYBER Pakhtunkhwa has been attacked once again, and once again a familiar set of questions have arisen about the seeming ease with which multiple jacket wallahs and fidayeen attackers were able to arrive at their targets in the heart of the province. A day earlier, the ISPR chief had asserted that significant successes have been notched up in the fight against militancy, but the attacks in Mardan and 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. have reinforced that a long and complicated fight still lies ahead. While the military is keen to discuss its successes in the various operations ongoing across the country, perhaps it should also be more candid about the extant threats and the terror networks that are still operational. The need for a more realistic outlook is essential for the public, otherwise the incongruity of a military claiming successes while attacks continue in various parts of the country will only add to the national confusion. While responsibility for yesterday’s attacks cannot yet be known definitively, the claim by Jamaatul Ahrar ...A Pak Taliban splintergroup that split off from the Mullah Fazlullah faction because it wasn't violent enough... does seem credible. Alarmingly, not only does the banned TTP faction appear to have a growing reach, from Quetta to Peshawar, but its resources, manpower and organizational capacity seem to be growing. Pak security officials point the finger of blame at Afghanistan, where TTP turbans have apparently found sanctuary in the eastern region bordering Pakistain and where sections of the state and intelligence apparatus are evincing a renewed hostility towards this country. Addressing the evolved TTP threat has not proved easy because it involves everything from military strategy to national security and foreign policy to border management. Unhappily, not only does the necessary military and civilian cooperation here appear non-existent, but there is perhaps a fundamental divergence over the path ahead. While the civilian government rightly emphasises a policy of peace and reconciliation with neighbouring countries, it seems to have neither the space nor the inclination to deal with a tough set of national security and foreign policy challenges. Yesterday, the anomalous situation was on display yet again as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... inaugurated one more road project and talked about Pakistain being on the path to prosperity -- while Peshawar and Mardan were bleeding yet again. Where the civilian government may be out of ideas or lack space, the military establishment seems far too keen on externalising blame rather than working towards understanding the sustained and simultaneously evolving murderous Moslem threat. Wherever the Jamaatul Ahrar leadership may be based, the attacks are taking place deep inside Pakistain. Why is the intelligence apparatus always one step behind the murderous Moslems? Peshawar and Mardan were no lone-wolf attacks and likely required a network of individuals to facilitate the attackers. While the bravery of security personnel helped limit the damage, it is virtually impossible to stop a suicide bomber who has already been deployed. But why are turbans still operating with relative ease? |
| Posted by:Fred |