Islamabad blast

A suicide bombing and subsequent bloodshed at a Shia mosque in the federal capital is too disturbing to account for. The daredevil attack in the high security conclave of Islamabad has claimed at least 31 lives and injured around 170. The Uzbek president was in the city as the attack took place before Friday prayers, sending shivers down the spine as to how vulnerable the security mosaic is.

The attacker was, however, bravely challenged by the security guards at the Imambargah and he opened fire in desperation before exploding himself. A similar suicide attack in the sessions court premises in November last year was carried out as Islamabad was playing host to an international conference. This tragedy came on the heels of the day-long hostage-taking of 12 cities in Balochistan last week, followed by unprecedented loot and plunder by terrorists who have their abettors at home and abroad.

This terrorist act warrants some serious introspection. The conventional finger-pointing at India and Afghanistan must graduate to some result-oriented outcome, like the nefarious characters being unmasked and exterminated, at least. The people are tired of excuse-politics, and their resilience demands some action on the ground to ensure that security is round the corner. Going out after the terror nexus is a must, and it's time the political strata too were taken on board to make the action unanimous and foolproof. Last but not least, the culture of appeasing hardened elements in the religious coterie must come to an end, and all those who believe in challenging the writ of the state and lawful governance must be taken out.

This blast has come at a nervous moment in our politics. The country is braced for a strike called by the opposition to protest against rigging in the February 2024 election. This calls for extra vigilance as well as a policy revisit to address the pestering political instability. That is how we can browbeat the menace of terrorism proactively and comprehensively.