Anger at shrine attack as Pak cracks down
More than 100 militants were killed in a sweeping crackdown launched by Pakistani security forces a day after a suicide attack claimed by the Islamic State left 81 dead at a crowded Sufi shrine.
Thursday’s attack at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sindh province was preceded by suicide attacks in Lahore and the northwest. The surge in violence that claimed more than 100 lives in a week has shaken the confidence of Pakistanis after a recent improvement in security.
The attacks also came at a time when Pakistan’s civil and military leadership had been congratulating itself for defeating terrorism. Army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa pledged to avenge the deaths, saying “no more restraint for anyone”.
COUNTER-TERROR OPS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
The army and paramilitary forces launched operations in Karachi and other parts of Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces and the tribal areas. “Over 100 terrorists have been killed since last night and sizeable apprehensions also made,” said a statement from the military’s media arm.
Afghan embassy officials were called to the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and asked to hand over 76 terrorists “hiding in Afghanistan”. The border with Afghanistanwas closedforsecurity reasons, he added.
The death toll rose to 81 on Friday and more than 250 people were admitted to different hospitals, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. IS claimed the attack through Amaq news agency. The suicide bomber struck when thousands had gathered for ‘dhamaal’, a Sufi ritual of singing and dancing.
QUESTIONS RAISED ON MILITARY’S CLAIMS
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he would do everything in his power to protect the country but people questioned how terrorism had raised its head again after claims that the military operation in the tribal areas had wiped out most militant groups.
Former army chief, Gen Raheel Sharif, had declared two years of success and said Pakistan was safer as a result of the campaign.
But this week, all claims of success were turned on their head. “We cannot keep on insisting the problem is elsewhere. It is here. It is in our midst,” said security analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi. Others such as analyst Ayesha Siddiqa pointed to the proliferation of militant groups in southern Punjab and upper Sindh. Hundreds of madrassas have been established by militant groups, which use them to recruit and train young men.
Pakistanis were fearful that the situation was again spiralling out of control just when things seemed to getting better. The terrorism could also have an impact on the economy, which had shown some signs of recovery.
Angry relatives of those who were killed in Thursday’s attack surrounded the chief minister’s motorcade in Sehwan and accused the provincial government of corruption and incompetence.
A number of people turned to social media to express their anger with the poor security arrangements at most public places. “Nawaz Sharif himself is a security risk,” said a tweet.