Mohammad Jamil
On 30 March 2009, the Manawan Police Academy in Lahore was attacked by 12 gunmen who were armed with automatic weapons and grenades or rockets. Security forces were able to take back the building after three of the attackers blew themselves up; three others were taken into custody and four were taken to undisclosed locations for interrogation by the security forces according to local media. The attack had come at a time when the trainee policemen were busy in routine training at a Police Center situated near Manawan Village on GT Road. The attackers had first lobbed hand grenades into the compound from the outside wall, and they broke into the building and opened fire on unarmed policemen before taking positions. More than 60000 Pakistanis have been martyred including 5500 personnel of Law Enforcing Agencies including police since Pakistan joined war on terror.
Banned TTP and other militant groups attacked military check posts, Mehran Naval Base, Kamra Complex; and last but not the least Army Public School, Peshawar. Before, May 2009 operation in Swat and Malakand, the then government believed that it could persuade militant groups to stop their heinous acts, but to no avail. The subsequent governments including the present PML-N government also had hoped that it can succeed in persuading them to wean away from heinous acts; but militants continued killing people and attacking law enforcing agencies’ personnel. The then COAS General Raheel Sharif and ISI Chief Lt. General Rizwan Akhtar had given briefings to the Parliamentarians providing first hand information. When the government saw the real picture, it decided to conduct operation in North Waziristan. Since launching Zarb-e-Azb, Armed forces have dismantled terror network and hideouts; and now remnants of terrorists are attacking soft targets.
Militants have been fanning sectarianism by killing religious leaders belonging to different sects. Before 1980s, sacrilege of or targeting mosque or Imambargah was unheard of in Pakistan, but for the last three decades attacks in FATA, Hangu, Quetta, Lahore, Charsadda, Peshawar, Dir and Jamrud were reflective of bestial traits of the terrorists. It is unimaginable as how the human beings can descend to such barbarism. Some groups have been simultaneously working – one attacking security personnel and check posts and the other one attacking the places of worship. Pakistan military has indeed decimated the strongholds of terrorists in Swat, South Waziristan and elsewhere and incidence has reduced to a very large extent by eliminating clandestine training centres that existed in FATA, NWFP, Balochistan or even southern Punjab. However, Zarb-e-Azb has broken the back of the terrorists, and there is let up in the spate of terrorists’ attacks from their remnants.
It was after attack on Army Public School, Peshawar in which more than 135 students and members of staff were killed, that the entire nation cried for ruthless action against the thugs and barbarians. The nation stood united against the terrorists. The problem is that religious zealots and fanatics believe in the righteousness of their cause, as they have been brainwashed and indoctrinated to the extent that they insist on enforcing their version of Islam. They used Pakistani soil to attack across the border, and were not inclined to wean away from the habit of crossing over to Afghanistan on the pretext that they want to help Afghan brethren. In fact, there is need to unite and send the message to the terrorists and the enemies of Pakistan loud and clear that they will not be allowed to carry out their pernicious plans.
Operation Zarb-e-Azb took the war to North Waziristan, which marked a clear departure from the conventional wisdom of some analysts and political leaders that any assault on the Taliban in the north would trigger a backlash in the south, where cities were already vulnerable to suicide-bombings and targeted assassinations. Apart from the latest incidents in Lahore, similar tactics of exchange of fire were occurred in connection with many terrorist incidents, as the militants reached their directed targets with latest weapons. In this respect, on March 3, 2009, terrorist attack which targeted the bus of Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore had killed 8 persons after a continuous gunfire by the militants. Pakistani officials confirmed that “grenades and rocket launchers had been recovered” which were of foreign origin. Afterwards, official inquiry disclosed that RAW was behind that attack.
In May 2009 the terrorists had field day. On May 27, 2009, more than 30 people were killed in Lahore when an explosive-laden Suzuki van exploded near Rescue 15 building of the police which was completely destroyed. It also damaged the building of the Lahore Capital City Police Office (CCPO) and that of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) which was the main target, but could not be hit due to heavy firing by the security guards on the terrorists who came along with the vehicle, firing at the security guards. According to a so-called study by the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2009, “the ISI provides funding, training and sanctuary to the Taliban in Afghanistan on a scale far greater than previously believed”. However, the Pakistani military had dismissed the report of the London School of Economics (LSE) as malicious and baseless.
