Yesterday, at least eight people were killed and 125 injured in a bomb blast inside the premises of a religious school in Peshawar. Even those who have a superficial acquaintance with developments and events in the region felt it coming. A day earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan had hinted at such a possibility. Last week, the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) had issued security alert for Quetta and Peshawar rallies of opposition parties, saying there was ‘credible information’ about possibility of subversive activities in the two cities.
An unidentified man left a suspicious bag, containing the bomb, inside the premises of the religious school and when students started to file in at 8am, the bomb went off causing deaths and injuries. The madrassa administration said 1,000 pupils studied at the school, and between 40 and 50 students were inside when the blast occurred. Two teachers were also injured in the explosion. The wounded were rushed to different hospitals in the city where doctors said most of them suffered burn injuries. Among the injured are 40 children. The police said the IED weighed five kilograms.
Despite the Nacta warning based on ‘credible information’ about possibility of terrorists striking the city, why the security agencies failed to foil the bomb attacks in Peshawar on Tuesday and in Quetta on Sunday? The terrorists chose a religious school where mostly adult students studied for better impact. They acted with self-assurance and succeeded. But those who are to counter their sinister designs came a cropper in puncturing their self-assurance. The situation demanded utmost alert considering that lately such terror attacks had happened inside Afghanistan and terrorists might also target various places in Pakistan with a view to derailing the ongoing talks aimed at restoring peace in Afghanistan. In September, five people were killed and another two wounded in a bomb blast in Nowshera.
On Monday, the PM had expressed apprehensions that India might use Afghan soil to destablise Pakistan. Despite prior warnings, terrorists have succeeded. We all should realise that we are in a cauldron of enmity; there is no room for complacency. Awkward and tragic moments ought to be avoided.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2020.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ