The Canvas

Another atrociously timed suicide bombing took place in the heart of the national capital, Islamabad, last night while I was trying to recuperate from a cold.

The bombing took place minutes before the ousted Chief Justice, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary had to arrive, killing 15 people amongst which 3 were women, injuring a lot more and sending shock waves of fear and terror into the Islamabad populace once again. The scene after the bombing was that of confusion and panic as people scurried to help those injured and wounded in getting to the ambulances. Some of the pictures shown on the television were gruesome beyond explanation.

The rally was planned for an address to the Islamabad bar council in Ayub Market, the Markaz of sector F-8, as shown in the picture on the right. The rally was arranged by the local political party activists. Loss of life like this is totally uncalled for and is totally inhumane. But very few people have grievances against the lawyer community to emote it with such force. The PPP leader claims their party was targeted, which could be true since they backed the government’s stance to take down extremism. Yet something of a different sort was said from their office today,

The News: PPP leader said that this suicide bomb attack was made in the light of an important verdict of the Supreme Court, expected on July 20.

Benazir Bhutto said that the government should immediately resign as it completely failed and if it not resigns the situation may further be worsened.

She said that she is very much grieved on the deaths of soldiers, civilians and others in the suicide attacks.

She further said that to deal with this situation, it is necessary to restore the real democracy so that a direct communication be made between the government and the people. [link]

Quite a u-turn. Guess I can never understand politicians.

Anyways only yesterday, a weird statement released by a ’sensitive agency’ claimed that eight suicide bombers had sneaked into the capital,

The News: Eight suicide bombers have entered Islamabad in two strides to hit their targets, a sensitive agency warned the law-enforcers in a report on the future plan of the extremists.

Confirming to The News the entry of terrorists in the capital, Inspector-General of the Islamabad Police, Iftikhar Ahmed, said, “We have taken tight safety measures in Islamabad to counter the threats of violence from the terrorists groups.”

Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been declared as ‘high security zones’ and the law-enforcement agencies have been put on high alert, the sources said. A high level meeting of Taleban leaders, chaired by Baitullah Mehsood in Wana, has decided to carry out suicide attacks and explosions against key government leaders, military installations and police offices, the report said. [link]

In such circumstances the local police authorities should disallow people from holding public processions like these for a few days, as the chance of becoming a target of these suicidal terrorists is quite eminent. Thats common sense. The Chief Justice supporters should realize on their part that the country is undergoing a tumultuous period and facing a grave threat from the Waziristan region who have declared they will target prominent leaders and politicians with suicide bombers. For all that has been going on with the Lal Masjid, Islamabad is the last place to be found at.

On a technical level, I believe the Pakistani police seriously needs to incorporate the use of sniffer-dogs more often that are trained to sniff gun powder, narcotics, contraband and any such chemicals that may be used for terrorist or amoral purposes. Thorough checking of cars and motorcycles should be carried out at the city entry points. Infra-red camera’s should be mounted on check posts. A lot more can be done but is not being carried out.

Lastly, all the different statements that are coming in from various people of authority and importance compel me to think that this could not have been anyone but who is a stake holder in the CJ scandal and the outcome of such a case could effect their future. Who is it, only time will tell. For now, I smell fish!

I hope and pray for the safety and well being of those in F-8, as I have a lot of my acquaintances living in that area. May God give strength and faith to those who have lost a loved one, and may these suicide bombers rot in hell. For those who have died, I wish for them heaven, and may they rest in peace.