Red Peshawar

A second terrorist attack came in Peshawar just with in one week. A hostel of Agriculture Training Institute was stormed by three terrorists on Friday morning killing nine people and wounding 37 others. Tehrik-i- Taiban Pakistan claimed the responsibility of the attack. A few days ago Additional Inspector General Headquarter of KP Police Ashraf Noor was martyred in a suicide blast along with his driver and gunman in Hayatabad.
Receiving the information on the attack, Police and army rushed to the spot with in five minutes and engaged the terrorists whereas in the meanwhile police rescued majority of students from hostel and all residents of the adjacent housing colony. However, six students, one watchman of the institute and one civilian could not be saved. The timely police action and greater coordination between the police and army during the operation against terrorists averted greater tragedy. Three suicide jackets and 20 grenades were recovered from the dead bodies of the attacker. According to Director General ISPR, the attackers were in contact with their handlers inside Afghanistan throughout the assault. He said millions of Afghan Refugees are still living in Pakistan and it is difficult to differentiate between genuine refugees and facilitators of terrorist.
The solution to Afghan problem does not seem possible in the near future. India is using the soil of Afghanistan for acts of terrorism in Pakistan. But the PML-N government is in the state of deliberate hibernation. It has taken upon itself the only duty to defend the disqualified former Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif. On the foreign affairs front there is no clear Afghan policy. The Interior Minister and pseudo-intellectual Ahsan Iqbal consumes all his energy on scolding PTI leadership, making false claims of economic gains and repeating CPEC mantra. Implementation of remaining 17 points of National Action Plan (NAP) with collaboration of provincial governments is permanently out of the priorities of his Ministry. But interestingly, during his visit to Hayatabad Medical Complex to see the wounded people of terrorist attack, he declared that terrorists shall be chased till their total elimination. How can this herculean task be completed when the NAP is buried for the sake of political expediency? NACTA is dysfunctional. Provincial governments of Punjab and Sindh are not serious in carrying out clean up operation against the sleeper cells of band outfits in Southern Punab and interior Sindh. Counter narrative to change the mindset of extremism has not been built for fear of losing the vote bank. One popular opinion about the PMLN leaders in general public is that there is secret dealing with these militant groups to ensure their own safety. It is pertinent to mention that CM Punjab Shabaz Sharif speech at Jamia Naeemia Lahore in 2010 points to this collusion. Keeping in view the volatile situation of the region, war on terror will be a long drawn out phenomenon like the Srilankan civil war. There is a dire need for a comprehensive Afghan policy and a plan for internal security to be immediately implemented if at all the political leadership is keen to win the war on terror.