Pakistan is currently facing a complex and evolving counter-terrorism landscape, particularly in Balochistan. While law enforcement agencies have intensified Intelligence-Based Operations (IBOs) to dismantle terrorist networks, these groups have shifted their tactics to target developmental projects and disrupt regional peace. The primary challenge lies in the hybrid nature of the threat, where terrorist entities exploit domestic vulnerabilities and social structures to embed themselves within the civilian population.
The recent video testimony of Raheema Bibi, serves as a significant exposure of the moral and social crisis within these networks. The case highlights a broader, dangerous trend: the systematic exploitation and weaponization of women.
Historically, groups like the BLA have utilized female suicide bombers, such as Shari Baloch, to create symbols of resistance.
However, the statement reveals that this is not an act of empowerment but a grave violation of human values and the degradation of women.
Exploitation & Weaponization
Women are being exploited through social, psychological, and domestic channels. Terrorist elements have crossed ethical boundaries by using women for facilitation, propaganda, and suicide missions. This weaponization causes extreme mental agony and insecurity for the women involved, often without their full informed consent.
The Case of Raheema Bibi
The brutality of this strategy is exemplified by Manzoor Ahmed, who exploited his own wife, Raheema Bibi. Manzoor used his wife’s identity and phone number to coordinate with terrorist outfits and facilitate a lady suicide bomber. This represents a total collapse of the sacred bond of marriage, as a husband deliberately put his pregnant wife’s life at risk for a violent agenda.
Missing Persons Rhetoric vs Reality
The statement revealed that a suicide bomber, Zarina Rafiq, stayed at Manzoor and Raheema’s home before being sent to a training camp in Afghanistan. This sequence of events exposes a critical flaw in the “missing persons” rhetoric often used against the state.
In many instances, individuals portrayed as missing are actually residing in safe houses or training camps across the border, orchestrated by organized structures.
Sinister Role of Afghanistan
The cross-border dimension remains a significant hurdle.
Afghan territory is being used as a sanctuary where these elements plan, seek shelter, and recruit locals.
This external support allows for a coordinated and organized terrorist infrastructure that targets Pakistan.
Cultural & Religious Infringement
Using women as weapons is an open aggression against the Baloch culture, traditions and the respect historically afforded to women in the region and in the religion.
Furthermore, suicide attacks are strictly Haraam and prohibited in Islam and it is indeed a grave sin rather than an act of Jihad which is sacred and encouraged.