Islamabad carnage: Nisar to TTP - condemn attack, identify culprits

Opposition criticises response of government and security forces.

ISLAMABAD:

Following a high level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the government has pressed the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for an explanation regarding Monday’s brazen attack in Islamabad.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told the National Assembly that the group has been asked to condemn the incident and identify those responsible for the twin attacks. “The government has conveyed, through the mediation committee, that mere disassociation from the terrorist incident is not enough,” he said, adding that violence and dialogue cannot run the same course.

There are three possible motivations for the attack, the minister said; the attack could be in reaction to the arrest of seven people from the city’s outskirts, he explained. Additionally, TTP members may have launched the attack or terrorist groups with linkages to foreign intelligence may have played a role in the attack in order to sabotage the dialogue process, he surmised. However, Nisar added that details of the investigation would not be disclosed at this stage, saying the apex court has taken suo motu notice of the incident. He pointed out that there were discrepancies between the police and intelligence agency’s version of the incident. “I assure you that we will chase these people, catch them and bring them to book,” he said. “Such terrorist activities cannot shatter our confidence.”

Opposition parties termed the attack a complete administration, security and intelligence failure, saying it exposed the government’s inability to tackle the challenge of security. Additionally, the combined opposition in the lower house cautioned that similar attacks could be carried out on other key state institutions, including the parliament.

Opposition leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah said the incident took place less than 48 hours of the announcement of a ceasefire by the government and militants. He expressed surprise over the ceasefire, saying, “You can announce a ceasefire with any state like India and Afghanistan, but not with a faction of rebel militants, who have taken up arms and challenged the writ of the government.” He added that the government’s approach proved the state’s weakness while highlighting that the TTP does not maintain control over all militant factions. “The incident indicates that the government has totally collapsed administratively,” added PTI leader Shafqat Mehmood.

“We need to implement existing laws rather than framing new ones,” he maintained. He pointed out that federal capital has become more insecure place as 45 incidents of robbery have taken place in January alone and vehicles worth more than Rs 1 billion were stolen during the last year from the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2014.