Security scare

The drama in Islamabad on the evening of August 15, when a man who appeared to suffer from mental disturbance drove onto the heavily secured Constitution Avenue accompanied by his wife and two young children, and then used two sub-machine guns to make a set of demands, left the nation riveted for almost six hours. Media teams covered every minute of the bizzare episode as security teams converged at the spot in the Blue Area, close to key government buildings and the diplomatic enclave. What the man, identified as Mohammed Sikander from Hafizabad, sought was clearly absurd and rather vague: a removal of the government and the imposition of ‘Islamic’ law. But what his action did do was to badly expose the inadequacies of our security structure.

In the first place, questions arise as to how Sikander, who used his family as a shield, was able to enter one of the most highly protected areas in the country without being stopped. Further questions arise as to why huge contingents of the police, and later other forces, seemed so helpless, unable to tackle a lone gunman. The delay added to the conjecture and conspiracy theories, with suggestions that the scene created by Sikander was intended to distract attention as a bigger terrorist act took place. Fortunately, this did not happen — but the security gaps gape out at us. We should be terrified. Indeed, the whole saga could have continued longer, had it not been for the action taken by Pakistan Peoples Party leader Zamrud Khan, who courageously attempted to grab the gunman while talking to him, with security men opening fire as he was pushed away from his children.

The incident, and affiliations, of the man, who now lies in serious condition at the PIMS medical facility, are being investigated. The police say Sikander may be linked to an extremist outfit; others hold he was simply deranged, his wife brainwashed. But even more than this issue, we need to look at how the situation unfolded and what this says about our security. Huge amounts of public money are spent on it, but yet a single man was able to paralyse our capital city for hours. This is not encouraging.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2013.

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