Bajaur bombing

Thousands of IDPs who have returned to Bajaur after fleeing fighting in the agency, will now face even tougher times. These IDPs, who had in many cases lost everything in the months of conflict, today struggle to survive; the task of re-building homes and restoring lands looms before them. In such circumstances we can only wonder at the sheer evil inherent in the suicide attack on a World Food Programme (WFP) distribution point in the town of Khar that killed at least 41 people, wounded another 60 and forced the WFP to wrap up operations in the area. As a result, there are families that will go hungry and children who will cry for food.

The militants behind the most recent attack have chosen to strike at their own people and have chosen from amongst their ranks the most vulnerable, who are least able to defend themselves. The motives behind the blast are unclear. It can only be assumed that the purpose was to hit a ‘foreign’ target, in this case represented by the WFP, despite the fact that its efforts aided local people. The agency has been targeted before, leading to a toning down of services. The attacks on NGOs engaged in humanitarian work through the years has obviously had a negative impact, causing a number to pull out or scale-down operations. There are not many countries in the world where relief workers are targeted by bombers and teachers or doctors are shot dead. Something has clearly gone terribly amiss in our society. We need to try and understand what it is.

We can now also see that the militants remain perfectly capable of operating across the tribal belt and perhaps beyond it. The loudly proclaimed ‘success’ of the operation against them needs to be reviewed. Raising victory cries can serve no purpose when defeat of the Taliban and their allies is still a distant dream. This week alone they have been horrific attacks in Mohmand and Hangu, apart from the latest in Bajaur. Some are sectarian in nature while others are driven by other motives. Are we then failing in the bid to vanquish militants? Are we destined to see more events such as the carnage at Khar? The thought is a terrible one and there seems to be no instant hope of salvation anywhere in sight.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2010.