EDITORIAL: In Chaarbagh tehsil of Swat unidentified motorcycle riders opened fire on a school van. The driver was killed on the spot while two children sustained injuries. Swat District Police Officer (DPO) told the media that investigation into the incident was under way, and that the culprit(s) would soon be behind bars.
Yet in an obvious attempt to play down significance of attack, he said the intended target was the driver, not the students. The tragic incident brings flashback of the days when the militants routinely attacked schools, and also of a similar attack on a school van in which famous advocate of girls’ right to education, Malala Yousafzai, was severely wounded.
Irrespective of the DPO’s version, it was evident to the local people as to who the perpetrators might be, and why. Many Chaarbagh residents along with students staged a sit-in while the Private Schools Management Association held a separate demonstration, vowing not to tolerate any terrorist activities against students or teachers in Swat, also demanding that the State fulfil its responsibility to ensure security of all citizens.
Furthermore, the Association announced that schools would remain shut on Tuesday so as to enable pupils and teachers alike to participate in a civil society’s protest at Nishat Chowk in Mingora against the creeping ingress of TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan) militants.
It is pertinent to recall here that during the past few months, reports have been circulating about the return of hundreds of these violent extremists to Swat, Dir, and some tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). That allowing these indoctrinated violent extremists to come from Afghanistan was a huge mistake is becoming clearer and clearer.
Last month, people in Swat and Khyber district of KP staged large protest demonstrations at the presence of militants who, they said, were involved in targeted killings, kidnappings and extortion. Around the same time, the interior ministry sent a letter to all governments in the provinces as well as Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan advising them to observe “extreme vigilance” and take necessary security measures because the peace negotiations with the TTP had “come to a standstill”.
If the hope was that the TTP would disarm and willingly integrate into society, the events in Swat and some other areas have proved that was a vain expectation. Those familiar with the goings-on have also been expressing the apprehension that the returning militants could regroup in their previous base of operations in North Waziristan.
Validating their concern the interior ministry letter said known militant commanders based in Waziristan have been in contact with the TTP high command in Afghanistan for directions on moving to the area to intensify terrorist activities.
No surprise then that in the recent months there has been an upsurge in attacks on the security forces. Before the situation gets uglier, the government and the security establishment must revisit their policy about talking peace with the TTP terrorists i.e., if revival of the ‘standstill’ negotiations is not already off the table.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
Comments
Comments are closed.