Quetta carnage: attack on intelligentsia

Now that Operation Zarb-e-Azb is exhibiting results, and there is a marked reduction in terror-related incidents, terrorists have changed their strategy. We are now seeing fewer but far more ruthless attacks. The aim probably is to give one deep cut that would bleed the nation for years. Balochistan is weeping. The gloom and sorrow surrounding Quetta is not only about the recent carnage that took the lives of more than 70 innocent people. It is also about the annihilation of a rank of lawyers, with the province being deprived of the best minds in the legal arena. It is about a forced brain drain attempting to deprive the country of its intelligentsia. Terrorism comprises many facets, and also includes the strategy of eliminating the intelligentsia of the targeted country. This strategy does not only disrupt social order, it also destroys the base of civilisation formed and nurtured by the intellectual cadre of a nation.

Our enemies have been following this strategy for quite some time. Many doctors, professors, journalists, social workers and singers have been targeted in the recent past. However, the depth this strategy has acquired over the years is staggering. Just look at the rundown of the killings that have happened over the past couple of years. A professor of a law college, Barrister Amanullah Achakzai was killed in June this year in Quetta. An assistant professor of Karachi University, Dr Syed Wahidur Rehman was gunned down in April 2016. Advocate Ali Hasnain Bukhari was killed in 2015 in Karachi. Professor Dr Muhammad Shakil Auj, Dean of Islamic Studies at Karachi University, was assassinated in broad daylight in 2014. A week after Auj’s murder, Maulana Masood, another professor at the university, was also shot dead. Recently Amjad Sabri was put to death.

While all these killings had an impact, they did not leave the kind of profound imprint that the killing of so many lawyers in one attack has left. It has numbed the nation and more so the intelligentsia that has already been reeling under the pressure of missed opportunities, a human rights crisis and a difficult working environment, reasons why every educated Pakistani is ready to leave the country at the first opportunity.

While taking out the best amongst us is not a new ploy employed by terrorists, taking out an entire lot in one go is indeed a new tactic. The enemy was certain that if the president of the Balochistan Bar Association was attacked, his colleagues would gather in solidarity at the hospital where the body of the slain lawyer would arrive. The area where the murder took place was not cordoned off according to standing operating procedures concerning crime scenes. Having known that one terror attack can follow another, no precaution was taken to monitor the situation following the murder. Security wasn’t beefed up at the hospital to prevent any untoward incident.

Frustration and anger against the security arrangements grow even further when the situation on the ground defies the intent. Quetta is a heavily guarded city with multiple law enforcement agencies stationed to keep it from falling into the hands of terrorists. Also, since the capture of the Indian spy, Kulbhushan Yadav, we have been talking ad nauseam about India’s evil intentions vis-a-vis the CPEC project. There have been confirmed intelligence reports about India’s involvement in fomenting unrest in Balochistan. Last but not the least, Quetta has been one of the main cities in the crosshairs of terrorists’ hit list. A security lapse of this magnitude amidst all these realities shows that measures taken to eradicate terrorism are not holistic and lack seriousness of purpose. Fingers are raised at the incapacity of civilian law enforcement agencies, especially the police. The government is also being accused of not applying the National Action Plan (NAP) in totality and cannot be absolved of its responsibilities.

Unfortunately, the culture of taking responsibility has not taken root in Pakistan. The buck does not seem to stop anywhere. It is being shifted from one head to the other with the result being that no head has rolled. India has been accused of the massacre. This may be true, but can we take our eyes off the enemy within? The idea behind an intelligence-led operation is to hunt down that very enemy. Apparently, there is a failure to that end. Our law enforcement and intelligence apparatus couldn’t prevent the recent carnage and the success of Operation Zarb-e-Azb would be eclipsed if we had a few more such attacks. The forced brain drain will further push the country many years backwards. Will making another committee to oversee the NAP help us kill the monster?

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2016.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.