Due to untiring efforts of law-enforcement agencies most parts of Pakistan have been ridden of terrorist activities, but off and on terrorists target Quetta and other places in Balochistan. On Monday, eight people — two police personnel and a Levies man among them — were martyred and over 20 injured in a bomb attack near Quetta district courts and the press club. The target of the bomb blast was, apparently, a religious rally. No one has so far claimed responsibility for the explosion. The dead and injured were shifted to the Civil Hospital. A spokesman for the hospital described the condition of nine of the injured as serious. Investigations are underway but there are no reports of a breakthrough.
In a bomb explosion in Quetta on Jan 10 this year, 16 people were martyred and 20 injured; on April 19, 2019, a bomb attack at a marketplace left 22 people martyred and 48 wounded. Besides these incidents, bomb explosions took place inside places of worships and close to such places leaving several persons martyred and injured. Irrespective of who are apparently being targeted, bomb explosions in Balochistan point to the fact that the basic aim of the terrorists is to derail the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a significant part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and also to cause destabilisation in the province and the country. The terrorists are targeting religious groups as a diversionary tactic though their real aim is to harm the functioning of Gwadar Port, which is an important component of CPEC.
Considering the prevailing geopolitical situation in the region, we are of the view that LEAs should beef up security around places where religious groups assemble. A series of such terrorist attacks makes tightening of security necessary more than ever before. On Tuesday, one policeman was martyred and two other cops were wounded in an IED blast in D I Khan, K-P. All this calls for the nation to be ever vigilant against the machinations of our enemies.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 19th, 2020.
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