IN a first incident of its nature, militants attacked Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express in Bolan district and hijacked the train taking over 400 passengers, including security personnel, hostage.
The situation was highly delicate as indiscriminate action could not be initiated against the hardcore criminals as they were using human lives as shield but credit goes to the security agencies for securing release of over one hundred hostages in initial hours and eliminating sixteen terrorists, expressing resolve to continue the operation till the last terrorist was neutralized.
Ten other people, including the locomotive driver who was the first victim of the armed attack, have lost their lives and the casualties are feared to rise.
The scale and nature of the episode highlights the level and intensity of the terrorist threat in the most sensitive province of the country, which, together with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), has become focus of foreign-sponsored terrorism aimed at undermining efforts of the Government to accelerate the pace of socio-economic progress of the otherwise backward province.
The terrorist outfit called Balochistan Liberation Army BLA) has accepted responsibility for the dastardly attack and hostage-taking on the pattern of attacks on buses, targeting non-locals separated on the basis of their identity cards.
That the renewed surge in terrorist activities has its linkages to Afghanistan was also confirmed in this incident as, according to security officials, the terrorists behind the attack were in contact with their mastermind in Afghanistan via satellite phones.
It was a well-planned attack involving use of rocket launchers and destruction of the railway line through blasts resulting in disruption of train services in the province.
It is because of the scale and nature of the incident that the authorities too are using all resources available at their disposal including gunship helicopters to hunt down terrorists and secure release of the passengers.
According to reports, Inspector-General Frontier Corps (North) himself is leading the operation along with SSG personnel but it is understood the action will take time due to inaccessibility of the area and the fact that the attackers have split into small groups.
Media reports also suggest that about two hundred security personnel were also on board the train and if true the question arises whether or not they were sensitized in advance about such a threat and equipped with necessary arms and gadgets to save themselves and others.
It will not be appropriate to say that it was a security failure as it is virtually next to impossible to secure all modes of public transport all the time but the tragedy highlights lack of intelligence capabilities.
A series of terrorist attacks both in KP and Balochistan in recent months underlines the menacing dimension of the problem and the need to evolve an effective strategy to eliminate the threat as success of all developmental initiatives is linked to peace and security.
Both the civilian and the military authorities are working hard to pave the way for greater foreign investment in different sectors of the national economy, especially the mineral resources.
However, success of such plans and projects is dependent on our ability to provide a salutary environment.
An increase in terrorist incidents and cross border attacks on the Western front as well as hostile attitude of Afghan authorities towards the border management project of Pakistan clearly indicate vested interest of the Kabul in sponsoring anti-state elements in Pakistan.
As also confirmed by a host of UN reports, Afghanistan is once again becoming a headache as far as the menace of terrorism and extremism is concerned, therefore, a coordinated approach is required to root out terrorism.
This point was rightly highlighted by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Munir Akram during UN Security Council briefing on Afghanistan in New York who sensitized the world community that the Kabul authorities had failed to address the threat posed to the region and beyond by other terrorist groups, such as Al-Qaeda, the TTP and Baloch terrorists, including the BLA and the Majeed Brigade, which are present in Afghanistan.
The Kabul regime now stands fully exposed.
