Is terrorism rearing its ugly head in FATA again? Shafaqna Exclusive

by Tauqeer Abbas
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Terrorists have intensified their nefarious activities both in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan where innocent people are killed mercilessly. Four women aid workers were gunned down in the Mirali area of North Waziristan. A police official informed that the aid workers were affiliated with a programme run by a local institute to develop household skills for women.

The victims were working for a technical institute in Bannu to impart skill development to local women. Coincidently, the attack took place on the fourth anniversary of the launch of Operation Raddul Fasaad that followed on the heels of the kinetic operations that had successfully destroyed the terrorist infrastructure in the tribal areas.

Based mainly on intelligence-based operations, Raddul Fasaad tackled the tentacles of militancy that had spread throughout the country. At a press conference on Monday, DG ISPR Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said that more than 375,000 IBOs had been carried out in Pakistan over the past four years to curb urban terrorism and dismantle remaining militant networks.

Each operation has claimed victories against terrorists and now even a thousands of kilometres long fence on the Afghan border is in place. Despite all this, the local people and especially women appear to be at the mercy of terrorists who strike at will. The ISPR has said that, while the military can and will take on terrorists, extremism also has to be tackled by the people of the area themselves by raising their voice against it and telling people around them how dangerous it is for them and for the entire area.

Nothing, however, quite underscores the return of violent extremism as does the mass murder of innocent women working for the good of society. This is not the first-ever incident of its kind because several other incidents have taken place wherein terrorists have attacked NGOs workers, teachers and social workers. The tribal areas along the Afghan border remain notorious for the availability of cheap guns and narcotics. Attacks have decreased in recent years following a series of military offensives against homegrown and foreign militants.

The incident is also being linked to developments in Afghanistan and new activity by the Afghan Taliban. It is thought the new attacks may be a part of their campaign to show that they still have strength and capability.The reunification in Afghanistan of several splinter groups with the TTP that, according to a recent UN report, was overseen by Al Qaeda, have heightened the terrorist threat in the region. The same document also held the TTP responsible for more than 100 cross-border attacks between July and October 2020. While no one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack on Monday, the KP police believe the TTP are the perpetrators.

Shafaqna Pakistan

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