Another morning darkened by outpouring of grief and mourning for martyred innocents. Another brazen terrorist attack, this time targeting PAF Badaber. Sixteen of the dead were offering their prayers in a mosque at the moment terrorists killed them. Seven others were performing ablution. Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi Raaji’oon.
The attack leaves us with more questions than answers. How could this happen? ISPR says the attack was planned in Afghanistan, but such an attack had to have some local support. At least some attackers or sympathiser had to do surveillance prior to carrying out the attack. Did they come and go freely from Afghanistan? How could our security agencies have no idea that this was being planned? The courageous response of our soldiers has been widely appreciated and it has been correctly noted that their acts saved countless other lives. But why were any lives lost? Were our agencies once again caught sleeping?
These question will probably remain unanswered, just like the question why US is still doing drone strikes in South Waziristan? This is not a question of American imperialism, though. Our own military has proven capability of using drones against militants. So why were these militants killed by an American drone? Did our own agencies not know they were there? These are questions that we will never even hear asked, much less answered openly and honestly. All we can do is hope that behind closed doors someone, somewhere is being held accountable for these deadly intelligence failures.
Speaking of accountability, Ansar Abbasi has condemned the lack of accountability
A Capt & 3 PAF soldiers joined 1000s who sacrificed their lives 2 fight terror. No accountblty 4 those who had pushed Pak to this situation
— Ansar Abbasi (@AnsarAAbbasi) September 18, 2015
However the truth is it is exactly those like Ansar Abbasi himself who are responsible for pushing Pakistan to this situation. Ansar Abbasi and those like him who project extremist ideology and Taliban sympathies are the ones who create confusion in the people’s minds by parroting Taliban propaganda.
Everyone here knew that the re-opening of Nato Supply Line would resurrect the horror of terrorist and suicide attacks in Pakistan. Still, the supply line was re-opened merely because it was crucial for American’s interest in Afghanistan and the region. While serving the American interest, we chose to forget how each and every peace deal of Pakistani authorities with local Taliban was sabotaged by the Americans; how extremism and talibanisation is fuelled through US drone attacks; who protects and feeds the anti-Pakistan Taliban in Kunar, Afghanistan; who and for what purpose has established a net-work of Raymond Davis like agents within Pakistan; who is behind Balochistan’s unrest; why is Pakistan pressed to target “good Taliban”. While we are made to believe that all Taliban and al-Qaeda are the enemies of Pakistan, but the bin Laden documents, released by the US military recently, suggest otherwise.
Read that again. If you did not know who wrote it, would you guess our media or TTP spokesman? What about this Tweet?
Demand for Islamic rule in Pakistan pic.twitter.com/pYfAfcCdEx — Ansar Abbasi (@AnsarAAbbasi) February 11, 2015
When Osama bin Laden was killed, Ansar Abbasi appeared on TV praising the terrorist leader and announcing that Taliban and al Qaeda have never been enemies of Pakistan. Do we expect people to listen to these statements day in and day out and not absorb at least some of it?
If we cannot hold those in military agencies accountable for failing to detect these outrageous schemes before they are allowed to take innocent lives, surely we have the power to hold accountable those who fertilise the soil with hatred and conspiracy theories so that Taliban sympathies can grow and spread. Ansar Abbasi is not the only one, but he is a good example. We desperately need accountability. First, though, we need to look in the mirror and hold ourselves accountable for having brought the country to this point.
