Daily Times

Following the terrorist attack on the police academy in Quetta, at least 60 people have lost their lives while several remain injured. Most of these are cadets, barely in their 20s, who were training at the academy to serve their country. The magnitude of this tragedy is incomprehensible, and the loss of their lives irreparable.

As Pakistan reels under the shock of this most horrific attack, what adds to the pain is the fact that three terrorists killed 61 of our people. Three.

It is not the first time that this police academy has come under attack by terrorists. It was attacked by militants in 2006 and 2008, with the former claiming six lives. And it is not just the police academy, but the recent history of Quetta is filled with such tragic attacks. It was only in August that a suicide attack in Quetta’s civil hospital killed 73 people. The same hospital was a victim of a suicide attack in 2010 in which an emergency room full of Shia Muslims was targeted. In 2013, Shia Muslim were again the main victims of a bomb blast in Quetta’s Alamdar road, which claimed the lives of around 81 people. The major part of the attacks in Quetta have behind them bigoted sectarian motives, and banned outfits such as Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Jamaatul Ahrar, and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan being their perpetrators. According to initial reports, this latest attack on the police academy has been carried out by the Al-Alimi faction of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.

Given such a troubled history of the city, it is puzzling as to why Quetta repeatedly falls victim to terrorist attacks. When it comes to intelligence failures, it must be accepted that complete surveillance is not possible, and intelligence agencies effectively play their part in minimising intelligence failures. However, when intelligence failure does occur, it results in horrific attacks such as these. This points to the inadequate security arrangement of such installations, which allow terrorists to breach into them and wreck havoc inside. How is it that a police academy that has been targeted by terrorists twice before only had one armed guard at the watchtower to protect it? Moreover, it is not just about resource constraints that prevent the adoption of an adequate security system as the lack of proper security procedures is also part and parcel of the problem. The nonchalant behaviour of both guards in particular and security personnel in general militates against effective monitoring and manning of buildings and sensitive installations. This is not about who goes inside these building, but rather the people who are around them. Least concerned of their surroundings, security personnel are generally caught off guard when terrorists strike, and this element of surprise gives the terrorists the opportunity to cause great damage.

Furthermore, last night’s attack has shown the increasing need for a holistic anti-terrorism strategy. While Zarb-e-Azb has been successful in breaking the base of the militant infrastructure in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, these militant outfits are spread both throughout the country and in neighbouring Afghanistan. Hence, in addition to reining in militant outfits in Pakistan, there is a need for finding a way to break this nexus of cross-border terrorism. Surely Pakistan’s security forces cannot physically conduct any kind of operation in another country. The only effective way to achieve this goal is create an atmosphere of mutual trust and cooperation, so that Afghanistan can be persuaded to clamp down on these groups itself. For that to happen, Afghanistan’s security concerns would have to be taken into account by Pakistan. Terrorism has become a transnational national phenomenon, and the only way to eliminate it is to create a friendly neighbourhood, rather than a hostile one, in which rather than point scoring aimed at states, the common enemy of terrorism is identified and fought together. We at Daily Times, in this time of unimaginable pain, extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the 61 victims. We also wish all the injured quick and full recovery.*