Jhal Magsi attack

Caught firmly in the crosshairs of terror, Balochistan has borne the brunt of militant-sponsored violence this year, accounting for as many as one-fourth of the 28 deadly incidents recorded since January 2017. Unfortunately, a number of these attacks have been motivated by sectarian hate — and not all of them have occurred in Balochistan but in other provinces such as Sindh and semi-autonomous regions such as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Fata’s biggest city, Parachinar, has endured attacks both on market places and the worship places of Shias. On Oct 5^th, a suicide attacker exploded himself near a Sufi shrine in the town of Fatehpur in Jhal Magsi district, killing 18 people and wounding more than 30. This was the year’s second major attack on a Sufi shrine — the first took place in Sindh’s idyllic town of Sehwan on February 16^th at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar — and points to the need for extra vigilance and permanent deployment of security officials at these sites.

There would have been more fatalities in Fatehpur had a police officer not apprehended the suicide attacker at the entrance of the shrine. This single act of heroism should not go unnoticed by the public which tends to have a low opinion of the police and for very good reason, one must add. Adequate awards and compensation should be given to the deceased policeman’s family.

One disturbing element about the latest attack is that it was claimed by the Islamic State group — whose presence seems to be growing in the country despite stout denials by the government. There is little point in denying the existence of the group which has claimed both the attacks this year as well as the November 2016 attack in Khuzdar. It is time that the prime minister comes good on his promise to act against militant outfits with full force.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2017.

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