Karachi: another terror attack

The attackers caused death, destruction within a limited scale and gave the govt a powerful message

Two terror incidents in Karachi within the span of less than a month must serve as a wake-up call for both federal and provincial authorities. These, taken together with several other such incidents in parts of the country in recent months that claimed many lives, should put the authorities on high alert. Late on Thursday night a powerful bomb explosion, in the busy Saddar locality of the Sindh capital, killed one man, a passerby, and left around a dozen wounded.

The bomb — said to be an improvised explosive device — had had a devastating impact as the blast shook several nearby buildings and severely damaged around half a dozen vehicles, including one of the Pakistan Coast Guards. The timing of the explosion indicates two things: either the bomb did not go off properly at a busy hour when large crowds of people pass through the area, or the miscreants deliberately chose the relatively lean hour to inflict less harm. The second possibility shows that the terrorists only intended to give a message that they are capable of exploding bombs at places where large numbers of people gather. Whatever the case, the terror attack at one of the busiest markets of Karachi has brought in the open chinks in the law-and-order machinery, and the terrorists exploited this to their advantage.

The attackers killed two birds with one stone: they caused death and destruction within a limited scale and were also successful in giving a powerful message to the government. The authorities were caught napping and this allowed the terrorists to attain their aim, even though partially. If there was negligence on the part of the authorities, it is a serious issue that needs to be probed. Considering that lately there has been an upsurge in terror activities in the country, the authorities should have been on full alert. The bomb blast in the given situation demonstrates that, at least in the present instance, the terrorists got the better of those entrusted with the task of maintaining law and order.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2022.

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