KARACHI: On February 16, at least 84 people were killed and over 200 injured in a bomb blast in Quetta, targeting Shia Hazaras. After the attack, massive protests were witnessed in different cities of Pakistan. Major political parties have demanded that the army be deployed in Quetta for the improvement of law and order in the city. PTI Chairman Imran Khan has said: “There is constitutional provision for deployment of armed forces under Article 245 of the Constitution. The army can be deployed in Quetta according to the demand by the victim families of Hazara community.”
After the blast in Quetta in January, the provincial government of Balochistan was dismissed and governor’s rule was imposed in the province. This was done to improve law and order and it was hoped that it will somehow prevent terrorist attacks from happening in the future. However, this recent bomb attack has shown that it does not matter who is managing government affairs. Things will not improve unless there is honesty in the way the affairs of Balochistan are managed by whoever is in charge. Any government that is honest and can run affairs without political interference by law-enforcement agencies will be able to improve the situation.
I would like to ask those parties demanding that the army be deployed in Quetta that if even with such a deployment, terrorist activities in the city do not cease, what will be their next demand? Will they demand Nato deployment in the city next?
Mubashir Mahmood
Published in The Express Tribune, March 1st, 2013.
