Terrorist strike in Quetta

Although there is a substantial reduction in terrorism-related fatalities in the rest of the country, Balochistan has had little respite. A suicide bomber struck inside a Quetta mosque on Friday, killing 15 people, including the prayer leader and a deputy superintendent of police, and wounding 19 others, seven of them critically. This was the second terrorist attack within a span of just three days. On Tuesday, two people lost their lives and another 14 were injured when a motorcycle bomb parked in a busy Quetta market exploded next to a Frontier Corps vehicle. While Hizbul Ahrar, a splinter group of the TTP, claimed credit for that attack, Islamic State terrorists took responsibility for the latest atrocity. The Afghan conflict and related geo-political hostilities seem to be playing out in that part of Pakistan due to ease of cross-border movement and a large presence of Afghans there.

This is not the first attack on a mosque. Back in August last, a similar bomb blast in a Kuchlak mosque, located on the outskirts of Quetta, four people were killed and another 25 persons injured. Those killed included the mosque imam and a brother of the Afghan Taliban leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada. Not long afterwards, another prayer leader was shot dead in an Afghan refugee camp in Chaghai district, not far from the Afghan border. These killings could be the outcome of internal Taliban strife or may well be the handiwork of elements within the Afghan intelligence agency, NDS, unhappy with the ongoing peace process. However, as for the recurring acts of terrorism in that province, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Jamal Khan Alyani was not so wrong when while condemning Friday's attack he said "enemies of peace and progress of Balochistan and Pakistan are attempting to destabilise this country." It is an open secret that certain outside powers taking advantage of the presence of violent extremists in Afghanistan use them to undermine this country. Balochistan in particular is in their crosshairs because of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project of China's Belt and Road Initiative and an anticipated game changer for Pakistan's economy. Peace in this country is closely linked to resolution of the unending turmoil in Afghanistan. Pakistan is already playing a constructive role in the peace process. Hopefully, the US and Taliban will reach a settlement of the unending conflict sometime soon, paving the way for the Afghan refugees' voluntary return to their homeland.

Relentless terrorist strikes in Balochistan show a weakness in the intelligence agencies work due mainly to turf issues. They must improve their performance. The government also needs to come up with a clear strategy to deal with local extremists. To state the obvious, normalcy will return only after all factors contributing to terrorism are effectively addressed.