Thu, 18 Apr, 2024

Terrorist Attacks in Pakistan

By Umang Gurung

On 8th June, 2014 Pakistan’s largest airport Jinah International Airport was attacked by a terrorist group of 10. They came disguised as Airport personnel armed with explosives strapped to their bodies and machine guns. Their objective was to destroy a group of parked airplanes. The security forces thwarted their plans and killed all of them in a gunfight. The planes were unharmed but a fire broke out and 29 people, including the terrorists, were found dead and 24 were injured. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and warned that such attacks would continue until the Pakistani government surrenders to them. Such violence has been a regular occurrence in Pakistan and many people are killed yearly by such militant groups to further their goal. The pessimistic view on this incident could be that the heroic efforts of the security forces stopped the terrorists before more damage could be done. But the casualties, the terror and the impending attacks create a dimmer picture. Tales of kidnapping, torture and manslaughter are endless and no matter how many of them we kill, we are unsuccessful in stopping them. We’ve got many intelligence organizations and have found and attacked many of their hideouts. When one chief gets killed another one steps up. Is killing them solving anything? They strike and we retaliate but it incites another strike. What’s ironic is that the terrorist groups believe that they are in the right, that they are doing god’s work. To them they are not terrorists and their acts are not sin but noble. They say that the government is corrupt and degrading while they are working for the betterment of the country. I can’t imagine what it must be to live in areas where there is immediate terrorist threat. To be scared of being the next victim of kidnapping, bomb blast or airplane hijacks. Nepal has seen relatively less terrorist activity but it hasn’t been unaffected. Many must remember August 2004 when 12 Nepalese men were brutally killed by a terrorist group called Army of Ansar al-Sunna. All we could do was watch the horror that was beset upon them. One starts losing faith in humanity. What makes any person take such a destructive path?