IN a brazen attack that claimed five lives, the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan targeted the Serena Hotel in Quetta on Wednesday. The high-profile hit is a frightening reminder of the group’s ability to unleash terror. The attack followed the typical TTP modus operandi: the attacker drove an explosive-laden vehicle into the hotel’s parking lot and detonated the bomb. What is of concern is that the vehicle used in the attack was stopped for routine inspection that is carried out at security checkpoints at hotels.
This means the bomber went to great lengths to disguise the explosives and hoodwink security personnel at the checkpoint. The hotel already has significant security measures in place — which makes this attack all the more audacious. Though initial reports linked the attack to the presence of the Chinese ambassador in the city, it appears no foreign officials were harmed and that the diplomat may not have been the target.
At this stage, it appears the TTP’s purpose was to create chaos. It is well known in Quetta that dignitaries and citizens congregate at the hotel after taraweeh prayers in Ramazan, so such an attack would no doubt have the desired impact of creating fear and panic. Isolated attacks claimed by the TTP in Quetta and in North Waziristan are not uncommon, but the targeting of a high-security location has sparked fears of a TTP resurgence. The terrorist group’s network was dismantled to a large extent after successive military operations in recent years, leaving it confined to pockets in North Waziristan and parts of Balochistan.
Even now, security forces conduct routine intelligence-based operations in both the north and south of the country to eliminate the terrorism threat. Wednesday’s attack underscores the need for continued vigilance and heightened security. While there may be considerable truth to the officials’ claim that a foreign hand is involved in attacks of this nature, better intelligence and improved investigation into how such an incident took place are imperative. Does the TTP have local abettors and sympathisers? Had the group been surveilling the hotel to detonate the bomb at a time when the presence of visitors would be considerable?
While there is no doubt that terrorism has sharply decreased in the country in recent years, an attack like this reinforces the reality that militant groups continue to find some support. Before the APS attack, the TTP had unleashed a reign of terror attacking schools, targeting law-enforcement officials and orchestrating kidnappings. The state’s swift and unambiguous response weakened the Taliban — but clearly, though broken and splintered, its ideology and capabilities have not been eradicated. Pakistan has suffered a great deal at the hands of militants, and terrorism has destroyed immense human and economic capital. The government and military must ensure that their focus and resources are focused on dismantling terror networks that still exist.
Tehran visit
THE two key takeaways from Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s trip to Iran on Wednesday were the need for better border security and trade relations between Islamabad and Tehran. The meeting with President Hassan Rouhani was cordial, with the Iranian leader stressing that “security is a common concern” for both states while also adding that bilateral trade activities needed to be further improved. The fact is that the Pakistan-Iran relationship, though amiable for the most part, has not been able to grow to its full potential. There are various reasons for this, most of them being geopolitical. While both states share a long border and centuries of cultural, linguistic and religious ties, these links have failed to translate into robust bilateral trade relations. President Rouhani hinted at “unimplemented agreements” standing in the way of better trade ties, specifically mentioning the stalled Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project. Pakistan has been wary of attracting US sanctions and annoying friends and benefactors in the Arab world by getting too close to Iran in the post-1979 era. However, it needs to explain to its friends that one relationship does not need to come at the cost of the other.
Official Pakistan-Iran trade is only in the region of a few hundred million dollars. This figure can grow manifold if both states decide to significantly improve trade ties. For example, there is a thriving informal border trade in Balochistan. If this were formalised and the requisite facilities provided in this underdeveloped part of the country, it could bring jobs to the impoverished region. The recent deaths of Zamyad drivers in the border area due to hunger and thirst point to the appalling fact that barely any facilities exist in this desolate region. This can change if both Iran and Pakistan decide to enhance bilateral trade through Balochistan. While the opening of a third border crossing at Pishin-Mand is a welcome move, many more such points are required, along with infrastructure — roads, utilities, shops catering to the needs of traders and travellers — to facilitate trade. If trade brings with it economic prosperity, security concerns can also be lessened as locals on both sides of the border are provided employment. The two countries need to work on a joint roadmap to promote trade, while Pakistan specifically needs to tell those who may be unsettled by the thought of better ties with Iran that there is no reason for concern.
Road to racial justice
THE death of George Floyd last May caused global shock and outrage, and led to mass protests in both the US and countries around the world. For nine minutes and 29 seconds — most of it recorded by horrified bystanders — Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, knelt on the neck of the 49-year-old black man in the process of ‘restraining’ him, watching the life drain out of Floyd despite his and witnesses’ desperate pleas, as fellow officers stood by, only letting up once physically removed by paramedics. On Tuesday, a jury found Chauvin guilty of murder. Many have expressed a sense of relief, though Minnesota’s attorney general and lead prosecutor for the case was quick to remind Americans that the verdict did not represent justice — “because justice implies true restoration” — but accountability.
More sobering words could not have been spoken at this time. Less than an hour before the Chauvin verdict was announced, police shot and killed a 16-year-old black girl in Ohio. Just days earlier, newly released video footage of the March 29 death of a 13-year-old Latino boy revealed that he had his arms raised when a Chicago cop fired on him. Meanwhile, there has been a significant uptick of mass shootings in the US in the past month, with the most high-profile of them perpetrated by men radicalised by white supremacist ideology. Yet it is historically disenfranchised, racialised communities that bear the brunt of disproportionate, often lethal, force by the police. Whether the US is willing to embark as a nation on the long road to racial justice remains to be seen. But the legacy o f racism and colonialism and its fallouts — such as impunity for police brutality affecting the most vulnerable and vilified members of society — are not uniquely American phenomena. Here at home, too, we must confront our complacent tendency to excuse abuses of power, torture and extrajudicial killings. ‘Security’ paid for with innocent blood will only perpetuate this cycle of violence.
