Daily Times

Terrorism might have eluded the public eye as it simmered in the underbelly of rough mountains or hideouts across the border but the attack on a police patrol in Quetta’s Baleli area has made its presence as certain as could be.

That the violent spectacle of blood seeping through streets with dead bodies falling in all directions does not wish to leave this forsaken province anytime soon has been known for quite some time now. However, the ease with which a terror outfit was able to fulfil its designs just two days after it had called off its ceasefire poses a lot of questions about the effectiveness of our law enforcement agencies. As per initial reports, a suicide bomber had rammed his explosive-laden rickshaw into the police truck. Just condemnations over a “cowardly act of terrorism” cannot help Balochistan chief minister escape discomforting inquiries about how and why this explosive material was able to cross checkpoints and hit its target.

If Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan could grease the wheels of its extremist machinery within a matter of hours, why couldn’t a sovereign country do the same? While the patrol was guarding the polio team and therefore, Wednesday’s attack could well be taken as an onslaught on the national immunisation drive. This is not the first time that extermist organisations have decided to register their reservations through heart-wrenching episodes of bloodshed. But just as imperilled are the safety and respect of all of Pakistan.

Therefore, the next time Islamabad wishes to paint this outfit in the hues of a reformed criminal and a victim of circumstances to pave the ground for deliberations, it would do well to remember that peace talks can only be held where there remains even distant hope of a better tomorrow. War-hardened criminals whose lust for human blood never appears to be satiate do not deserve any such olive branch. They’ve attacked enough hospitals, schools, police stations, hotels and public spaces to put their point across the table. It is high time we too stand up to protect our own. *