Terrorists detonated an Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) at Parsons Green Underground station in London last Friday. Resultantly twenty two people were injured. It was the fifth terrorist attack in UK during the last five months. It created a renewed scare among the Londoners in particular and people of England in general. The Government of UK raised the threat level from severe to critical till the culprits were arrested. Though after the arrest of two suspects the threat of subsequent attacks has subsided, guards cannot be lowered as the situation is still considered severe. Terrorists have conveyed their intention to carry out carnage in London. The terrorist group Islamic State (IS) has claimed the responsibility.
London Underground, the 11th busiest metro system in the world, and the third busiest in Europe, after Moscow and Paris as more than one billion people travel on it annually, is favourite target of the terrorists. First known terrorist plan to target London underground had come to surface in 2004. Fortunately it was foiled and a likely bloodbath was averted. The credit goes to Pakistan’s intelligence agency that had arrested al Qaeda terrorists and extracted the plan ‘Gas Limo Project’ from them. As per this terror manual three limousines packed with flammable gas cylinders were to be blown up in underground stations. The timely sharing of information played a pivotal role in averting this dreadful terrorist plan aimed at carrying out mass scale killings.
At that time the British agencies and police were already suspicious of some elements and a large scale operation codenamed Operation Rhyme, was underway to ascertain their plans. The timely and credible fore-warning from Pakistan gave impetus to the operation and the culprit Dhiran Barot @ Hindi and seven accomplices were arrested. Their other targets included landmark financial institutions in New York and Washington.
Parsons Green bombing seems to be the thinking and planning of the terrorists who had scripted ‘Gas Limo Project”. Al Qaeda and IS have severe differences but their members and followers keep switching their loyalties from one party to other. Like in Pakistan the dreaded Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), that was once the creation of al Qaeda, whose leadership has taken refuge in Afghanistan, has joined hands with IS. Obviously their experiences and expertise are used in the new set-ups. Old dossiers of Operation Rhyme, Dhiran Barot and Gas Limo Project must be dusted down to glean relevant information.
Terrorists have demonstrated resilience and determination to keep striking to kill innocent civilians. The world needs to respond with a greater level of cooperation to face this menace that has become more lethal with the passage of time. We can join hands and learn from each other’s experiences to alleviate our sufferings. In the instant case as far the use of IEDs is concerned UK can learn a few tips from Pakistan because the latter has vast experience of facing and handling such bombings and use of IEDs by the terrorists.
UK is home of more than one and a half million British Pakistanis who are playing active role in business and politics of the country. While our thoughts and prayers go for the victims of the bombing we are concerned about the safety of Pakistanis in London. It is also high time for them to move ahead to integrate in the society where they live by playing active role in the security of London and other cities of UK
The use of crude or rudimentary IED in Parson Green station should not be a matter of satisfaction for the security agencies. The terrorists can soon learn to make more lethal versions. All IEDs and Vehicle based improvised devices (VBIED) that were used in Pakistan were simple in form but lethal in impact. Initially these devices were not very effective but with the passage of time the terrorists learnt to make them more harmful and effective, if not sophisticated. Unfortunately the manuals to make IEDs are available on the sites sponsored by al Qaeda and IS.
The counter terrorism force also needs to be more proactive. A Pakistani friend who is visiting London these days pointed out that as per the news the alleged bomb factory, where that IED was prepared, was reportedly 12 miles away from Parsons Green, where it was detonated. He lamented over this slackness in the security arrangements to check the movement of suspicious persons and more importantly the IEDs across London. A friend in Italy, who closely watches the security issues in Europe, gets hugely upset when the government says that the suspect was already under watch or was borne on the adverse list. She asks why the government agencies could not stop the suspect-under-watch from carrying out the dastardly act? These comments go long way to show that people care, they have valid observations and their cooperation can make a difference.
UK is home of more than one and a half million British Pakistanis who are playing active role in business and politics of the country. While our thoughts and prayers go for the victims of the bombing we are concerned about the safety of Pakistanis in London. It is also high time for them to move ahead to integrate in the society where they live by playing active role in the security of London and other cities of UK. Especially at this point in time when London is facing terrorist threats and incidentally a Pakistani British is the Mayor of London there is greater responsibility on the British Pakistanis to extend full support and solidarity to make London a safe place for all the people. The key step should be to go all out to stifle the spread of radicalization in the community.
The writer is Honorary Director Centre for Peace and Security Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Masters in International Security, War Studies Department, King’s College London. Tweets at N Elahi@Aaibak
Published in Daily Times, September 19th 2017.