OVER the last few days, terrorist attacks have revisited country’s most strategic province Balochistan, which indeed should ring alarm bells in relevant quarters to check and control the situation. On Saturday, armed assailants gunned down four people including Balochistan National Party leader Nawabzada Mir Amanullah Khan Zehri in Khuzdar district. A day before, a bomb blast at a mosque killed Hafiz Ahmadullah, brother of Afghan Taliban Chief Haibatullah Akhunzada, and three other persons.
The timing of these incidents is significant as on the one hand, the Afghan peace process is progressing very well while on the other hand India has upped the ante both at the Line of Control and in occupied Kashmir. The two incidents clearly depict that anti-Pakistan elements are active in this strategic province to achieve their ulterior motives. Firstly, these elements want to sabotage the Afghan peace process yet it is encouraging that Afghan Taliban rejected derailment of talks with the US on the killing of their chief’s brothers. Indeed both the parties are fully aware that such impediments will be created in their way to undermine the talks but they need to stay focused to strike the deal that could bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.
As far as killing of a political figure is concerned, it is aimed at stoking anarchy and instability in Pakistan and by playing with the sentiments of Baloch people. We are confident that province’s political parties will demonstrate greater maturity and act in unison to foil enemy designs, which at this moment aims to destabilise Pakistan. At the same time, it is important that these terror incidents are investigated and elements involved are unmasked. Given the frequency of terror incidents in Balochistan in which security personnel have of late been the main targets, authorities should reconsider their approach and make elaborate arrangements to pre-empt and foil nefarious designs of the enemy and instil sense of security amongst the people.
