Quetta again

At least two policemen were martyred and at least 21 people injured in a terrorist attack in a high-security area in Quetta. The improvised explosive device was planted on a motorcycle and took place at Zarghoon Road, near University Chowk, and appeared to be targeting a police van. According to investigators, the bomb used about 4kg explosives and appears to have been detonated using a timer. At least nine of the injured people were civilians, while the rest were policemen, says a police spokesman.

The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the attack, and although the government and security forces have not confirmed their own suspicions on the record, it would be no surprise if they pointed to the same suspects. Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan condemned the attack with the usual political bluster. “We will never allow terrorists to succeed in their nefarious designs,” he said, ignoring the fact that terrorist attacks have taken the lives of dozens of civilians and even more security officials this year.

As their label suggests, the terrorists have very much succeeded in terrorising Pakistan. Jam Kamal and leaders in Islamabad need to get their act together. They need to stop announcing that the public supports the security forces in their anti-terrorism efforts and actually legislate so as to combat terrorism. Also, while the CM may be arguing that the terrorists achieve their broader separatist goals, the fact is that even they know that. At this point, it is increasingly clear that these groups are only in operation to destabilise Balochistan. That, in turn, only serves the interests of India, and to a lesser extent, the Afghan government.

The fact that these attacks keep occurring shows the need to intensify security and diplomatic approaches. We will skip Afghanistan for now because Kabul could lose control over the Balochistan border in a matter of days. As for India, simply calling out the country’s alleged support of terrorism or announcing we have presented dossiers showing its involvement with terrorist groups is not enough. If India doesn’t back down, we need to push harder to get the world powers to punish them.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2021.

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