Daily Times

Another day, another attack. An improvised explosive device (IED) struck two bulletproof Land Cruisers of the US Consulate staff in Peshawar on Friday, injuring 11 people and killing one passerby. Two consulate personnel suffered minor injuries in this first attack on US diplomats after the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. This comes in a sequence of similar attacks that have been taking place throughout the country since al Qaeda’s leader was killed, including against Saudi personnel in their Karachi consulate. It is feared that this is just the beginning as the extremists might be getting warmed up to fulfil their pledge of revenge against Pakistan, the US and other countries that had a part to play in bin Laden’s death. Other NATO countries too are on the terrorists’ hit list. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the Peshawar attack and have declared it retribution for bin Laden’s death at the hands of US Navy SEALs.

When such a red alert situation exists in the country, it is shameful that adequate security measures are still lacking to prevent such attacks from taking place. Just as Osama was a high value target for the US, likewise, US, European, Saudi and even Pakistani citizens are high-value targets for the militants. To have foreign and our own citizens under threat on our shores and to be woefully unequipped to protect them is pathetic, to say the least. It is almost as if the security forces in Pakistan are too de-motivated in the face of a murky, bloodthirsty enemy.

The area where this latest attack took place, University Town, is considered to be one of the more posh residential locations in Peshawar. It is a community where foreigners usually live. For a militant onslaught to take place there shows that even the most well-off of places is unsafe, what to say of the rest of the country. The security and law enforcement agencies have to get their act together. Our intelligence establishment cannot afford to fall asleep (again?) in the wake of the bin Laden episode and our police and security forces need better methods of detection and prevention. Arrangements must be made to better police the streets and allow citizens, whether international or local, to move about without incurring the risk of being blown to bits. *