Pakistani security agencies are becoming a threat to the Pakistani people. The police are the most notorious in this regard and every few days they present one or two new pieces of evidence. And the latest evidence is that the Islamabad police killed a student, named Osama, on the basis of some argument with the police. As per one source, he was shot eight times; the other source says that he was shot 22 times. But why??
The statement given by the police of the federal capital says that the victim was driving a suspicious vehicle and upon being asked to stop, he did not; for which, they opened fire on him. The DSP said that Osama was innocent and he had nothing to do with any incident of robbery. Just the colour of the car was the same. In other words, the DSP is saying that if somebody drives a vehicle of the same colour that is being driven by the robbers or anti-socials, he runs the risk of being shot dead! The police were trying to cover up the incident but the family members exposed the incident.
A day earlier, Osama had some issues with the police, and the police had threatened him with dire consequences. So when he went to drop his friend, the police surrounded him and shot him dead. The Pakistani people are worried about the disappearance of thousands of people at the hands of Pakistani security agencies. Who is not aware of fake encounters at the hands of CTD? Rao Anwar retired proudly after target-killing about fourscore people. The Rangers had also killed a youth in public, but why were the security personnel and those responsible for such incidents not given the same punishment as they had given to the innocent people?
The matter is not related to guilt or innocence but to the rule of the law. Those who were entrusted with the responsibility to enforce the law are breaking it. Police are found involved in kidnappings for ransom, in robberies, in extrajudicial killings, yet they are meant of safeguarding our lives and property! Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid is threatening Maulana Fazlur Rehman that if he speaks against the army, he will be booked immediately. And those who killed an innocent young man will not be punished. What a contradiction!
Balochistan has been hit by terrorists again. In the latest incident of violence, in a place called Mach, mineworkers were kidnapped and killed by terrorists on 3 January 2021 and 11 of them were killed. Hundreds of miners die there every year because of the abysmal conditions of the mines in Mach. Now they are being the targets of terrorists as well. If due security measures would have been taken, these miners could have been saved. Who should be blamed for the lapse the owners of the mines, or the provincial government? Would the statements from the government and its officials condemning the incident to address the problem of terrorism (in the country)?
The enemy who is involved in the bloodshed in Balochistan is known to everyone. The intentions of the enemy are not hidden either. This is a well-established reality that India is behind in every act of terrorism in Pakistan. The modus operandi or the targets may differ but the sole purpose of these terror attacks is to create hurdles in the progress/development of Pakistan, create fear in Pakistani society and weaken Pakistan’s defence.
India does not miss any chance to inflict damage on Pakistan. Pakistan defence institutions have provided indisputable proofs of India’s involvement in supporting terrorism inside Pakistan. A dossier was submitted to the UN Secretary-General in the last month in this regard. However, the UN has not taken any step on this matter as of now. This was the second major attack by terrorists within two weeks. Earlier, on 26 December, seven FC soldiers were killed in a terror attack.
Given the recent trend in terror attacks, it is likely that the enemy will hit us again. Our security agencies need to be alert to this. We need to have an effective and efficient policy in place to meet such threats. Despite all the efforts made so far, more needs to be done to protect peace and stability in Balochistan. Preventive measures can avoid such attacks in future. Given the geography of Balochistan, it is easy for India-backed terrorists to hide in some far-off places. Such weaknesses, where the security forces are unable to reach and discover such places, need to be addressed.
The unsafe border with Afghanistan can create problems for KP and Balochistan. Ongoing fencing on the border would decrease such threats. The security on Pak-Afghan and Pak-Iran border needs to be enhanced as well.