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Friday was an auspicious day as it marked the festive occasion of Eid Milad-un-Nabi (PBUH). However, the blissful moment turned into tragedy after twin explosions in two different provinces. At least 62 people lost their lives and several others were injured in the tragic incidents.
Most of the casualties occurred in Mastung, a volatile town in Balochistan, where a suicide bomber struck a religious procession marking the occasion of the 12th Rabi-ul-Awwal. Rescue personnel arrived nearly two hours later as bodies lay scattered. The law and order situation in Mastung has remained volatile in recent months. A roadside bomb explosion injured eleven people this month including senior JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah.
A similar incident occurred in the town of Hangu of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where two suicide bombers struck a mosque and detonated explosives inside the main prayer hall. A vigilant police officer killed one of them as the worshippers fled for their lives. This prevented further casualties while the roof of the mosque collapsed. Five people lost their lives and 12 others were injured.
The situation worsened after an attempted cross-border infiltration in Balochistan by TTP terrorists led to the martyrdom of four soldiers, marking one of the deadliest days the nation has witnessed in recent months. The TTP operates out of sanctuaries on the Afghan side and has been held responsible for the attacks. The banned outfit has martyred several security forces in terror attacks this year.
The international community has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks and also extended its support for Pakistan. However, the nation needs more than just sympathy. It requires support to fight the terrorists. Pakistan has expressed concern over TTP activities on Afghan soil but has not commented if they have the patronage of the Afghan government.
The Afghan Taliban recently claimed to have captured 200 suspects for allegedly staging cross-border attacks against Pakistan. Both sides recently held bilateral talks weeks after hundreds of heavily armed terrorists infiltrated the border, attacked security posts in Chitral and martyred four soldiers. However, it needs to be seen if the TTP crackdown will yield any results as the cross-border attacks continue.
Afghan Taliban have a greater responsibility to address these issues as they are now in control and must demonstrate that they no longer act like an insurgent group. Pakistan also needs to take a tougher stance or such terror attacks will continue unabated.
