Sir: Diamer and Kohistan — the neighbouring districts of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — have been in the grip of terrorism for the last one year. Miscreants have killed dozens of innocent people including security officials and 10 foreign tourists. February, 28, 2012 will be remembered as a black day in the history of the region because the first barbaric incident took place on that day when terrorists killed 18 passengers after identifying and disembarking them from buses in Kohistan. This incident caused tension in Gilgit-Baltistan as all the victims were residents of Gilgit-Baltistan and the tension resulted in riots in Gilgit in April 2012, which claimed 14 lives. On August 16, 2012, terrorists again targeted a passenger bus in Lalusar and killed 19 people after identifying them. On March, 29, 2013, a deputy superintendent of the police and his guard were shot dead in Tangir, a valley of district Diamer, followed by the killing of 10 foreign tourists at the base camp of Nanga Parbat on June 23 this year, while on August 5, a colonel, a captain and superintendent of police were gunned down. All three latter martyred officials were investigating the Nanga Parbat tragedy. The motives behind these incidents are multi-dimensional because of the geo-strategic location of the area. Diamer is the gateway to China and Siachen, while Pakistan is constructing its third largest dam in the district. If the law and order situation deteriorates and unrest spreads on a large scale, Pakistan will have to suffer a lot because trade with China, supply to the highest battlefield of Siachen and the construction of Diamer-Bhasha dam will all be affected badly. Those forces that dislike the Pakistan-China relationship, Pakistan’s presence at Siachen and would like nothing more than to make our country barren will be the beneficiaries, and hence the involvement of the infamous ‘foreign hand’ cannot be ignored. The style of these attacks also indicates the involvement of foreign forces because it is impossible for local groups to plan such organised acts without any help. However, the chain of events describes one truth: terrorists have safe havens in the area and they have become so strong that they can target high security officials with ease. It is the need of the hour for the government to take action with the consultation of local elders against miscreants otherwise a situation similar to the one in FATA may arise in Diamer and Kohistan. ASIM IQBAL Rawalpindi