Countering terrorist attacks

The Pakistan Army has successfully countered the threat posed by terrorists, who had made the country hostage to them. In 2014, the Operation Zarb-i-Azb was launched in North Waziristan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, which was hugely successful and was appreciated throughout the world for eliminating terrorism. It was followed by the Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, which is being carried out across the country.

Recently, at the corps commanders conference, the passing of peaceful days of Muharram throughout the country were acknowledged.

Before that, terrorists had perpetrated many attacks in Pakistan against the shrines of Sufi saints and grand scholars of Islam, who had played a major role in preaching Islam in the Subcontinent. Al-Qaeda, Daesh and Taliban had conducted more than 70 attacks on the shrines of revered Sufi saints in Pakistan. Suicide bombers were used in most of the attacks and hundreds of Muslims were killed by the terrorists.

The suicide attack on the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar on 16 Feb, 2017, in which more than 70 devotees, innocent women and children were killed, is reflective of this hate. Marian Brehmer, a journalist based in Istanbul, Turkey, has explained in a blog: “The figure of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, a 12th century scholar and poet, plays an important role in the identity of the South Asian Sufis. Following his death, the mystic was identified by the Hindus in Sindh with the deity Jhule Lal, whose epithet he carries to this day. In the repertoire of the qawwali singers there are several songs about Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, of which "Dama Dam Mast Qalandar" has become a kind of universal Sufi hymn…

“Like no other shrine in Pakistan, the shrine in Sehwan is a symbol of the religious pluralism that is firmly rooted in this nation. Religious minorities are not only welcome at the tomb of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar – to this day, one of the guards continuing the family tradition of looking after the shrine is a Hindu. Not only that: women dance alongside men in the dhamal ritual. In the forecourt of the shrine, the otherwise ubiquitous separation of the sexes is repealed. This is why on 16 February, a large number of victims were women and children.”

In one of the worst attacks on Sufi mosques and shrines, on July 1, 2010, two suicide bombers targeted the shrine of Data Darbar in Lahore. At least 42 people were killed and 172 were injured in the attack.

On 8 October, 2010, at least eight people were killed and more than 65 injured after bombs exploded at the Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s Mazar in Clifton, Karachi. The shrine of Baba Farid at Pakpattan was also attacked on 26 Oct, 2010. Six persons were killed and 12 injured in this attack. On April 3, 2011, at least 51 persons were killed and more than 100 were injured when two suicide bombers blew themselves outside the shrine of Sufi Saint Ahmed Sultan, popularly known as Sakhi Sarwar in Dera Ghazi Khan. In Khuzdar, Balochistan, the suicide attack at the shrine of Shah Noorani on 12 Nov, 2016 resulted in 60 deaths and more than 100 people were injured.

The people of KP also confronted the major brunt of terrorist attacks, as more than 50 Sufi shrines were targeted by the militants in the province. Terrorists’ utter disrespect to the shrines of Muslim saints depicts their extreme level of ignorance. They neither respect the teachings of Islam nor honour the Pashtun traditions. Given the focus of the personnel of law enforcement agencies on counterterrorism strategy and dealing with terrorists and subversive outfits throughout the country, the menace of terrorism has been controlled to a large extent. But in case of any terrorist activity in the country, the responsibility would squarely rest on the shoulders of some neighbouring countries and its intelligence agencies.