Monday, January 01, 2007
Spate of bomb blasts and killings mars the NWFP govt's image http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\01\01\story_1-1-2007_pg7_20
By Javed Afridi
PESHAWAR: A fortified town fearing an attack from an unknown enemy is what the provincial capital has become, with check-posts set up within the city and its suburbs, manned by local police and paramilitary personnel sporting bulletproof jackets. Eight bomb blasts and the murder of a senior police officer during the last quarter of 2006 in NWFP have belied the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA)-led government's assertions regarding an 'exemplary' law and order situation and such fateful incidents are making the NWFP a volatile area to live in.
The tragic incidents are reminiscent of the some of worst periods the provincial capital experienced during the early 80s when the city paid for Pakistan's role in a decade-long Russian occupation of Afghanistan, and it is in the air that the current lawlessness might have its roots in the country's Afghan policy.
However, three of the four stake-holders - the provincial government, the federal government and the security agencies - have at times held various factors (sometimes conflicting) responsible for the poor state of affairs, while the Peshawarites wait for the fault lines to see the light of day.
Beginning with a blast at a car parking area adjacent to the West Cantonment Police Station that damaged 25 vehicles on September 18, the spree continued with a blast in the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) injuring three people on October 6, followed by another explosion near the Daewoo Bus Stand that injured an Afghan national on October 13.
On October 20, a blast in a crowded area near the Jinnah Park, opposite the Balahisar Fort housing Frontier Constabulary's (FC) Headquarters, left nine people dead and 39 injured. Meanwhile, an attack on a religious seminary in Bajaur Agency on October 30, killing 83 people, rang alarm bells in officials' minds and the NWFP police was put on high alert as the government feared a backlash against the seminary's bombing. The Afghan refugees fell victims to the wrath of the administration, which started rounding them up by saying, "this is the lot we may face problems from." "We want to restrict refugees to their camps as their movement has become dangerous for peace in the provincial capital," Peshawar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ifthikhar Khan told Daily Times on November 5.
"I want the Peshawarites to know that their lives are at risk due to a suicide bomber in the near future and every citizen should be vigilant to foil such an attempt," he said.
On November 8, 42 army recruits of the Punjab Regiment Centre (PRC), Dargai, were killed and 39 others were injured, when a suicide bomber blew himself up amid a group of fresh recruits. They were getting training in one of the three grounds, opposite the PRC Fort in Kurkai union council of Malakand Agency in the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA).
While the federal government termed the Dargai incident as a reaction to the Bajaur killings, the provincial government called both incidents a conspiracy and claimed that certain elements wanted to sabotage peace efforts in the tribal areas.
November 17 dawned with a suicide bomber's attack on a police mobile van in the Pishthakhara police precincts, which left the attacker dead and two cops injured.
A bomb, planted in a motorbike in a posh Cantonment colony near Prince Market opposite Defense Park exploded on December 1 killing one person. Locals claimed the deceased was a watchman of a nearby house, but the police believed it was the same person who was carrying explosives and was killed when the explosives went off prematurely.
On December 3, a man hurled a grenade at a police barricade in Bannu, killing one of the officers and injuring another before he (attacker), too, was fatally shot inside the car.
The unabated violence took another turn when the NWFP government began arguing with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) for conspiring against the provincial government. Provincial Information Minister Asif Iqbal Daudzai on December 6 held the IB responsible for all the explosions in the city and also linked the Bannu incident to them, following the arrest of an IB employee for allegedly planting explosives near the Frontier House. Daudzai demanded that both IB personnel should be handed over to the provincial security agencies, claiming that their interrogation would "unearth the truth behind all the blasts that have taken the residents of Peshawar hostage for the last more than two months."
"If the accused are not handed over to us, it means the federal government wants to sabotage the peaceful environment of the province in order to spoil of the MMA government's reputation prior to elections," the minister said, adding that if the intelligence agencies did not stop their 'practices', the MMA leaders would inform the public of the blasts' realities.
He dubbed the blast a conspiracy against the NWFP government and against the integrity of the province, and called upon the provincial party leaders to support their stance, otherwise their governments could face a similar situation in future. Unknown assailants killed Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG-Bannu) Abid Ali in Srakhawra area on December 18. He was on his way to the provincial capital to attend a meeting with the inspector general of police (IGP) the next morning. A harmless blast on December 21 was followed by a powerful time bomb, planted in a car, parked in a parking area outside the Peshawar airport that killed one person and injured two others on December 26.
The recent blast near the city's airport should be an eye-opener for the NWFP government and security agencies, which must take urgent measures to save citizens' lives.
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