As the government resolves
to take stringent measures to counter terrorism, killing
of over a hundred people in a short span of around ten
days in the fresh surge of terror across Pakistan worries
law enforcers and the public alike. It clearly indicates
that religious subversion, in the lately introduced shape
of suicide bombing, has assumed an alarming proportion
and is seemingly getting beyond the government's control.
Entering Pakistan with
assassination attempts on President General Pervez Musharraf,
the relatively new trend of suicide bombing brings in
a new blend of militants and terrorists who are bent upon
targeting not only westerners and their settlements like
embassies, but also religious places as well as notables
of the opponent sects.
The recent string of suicide
bombings has jolted the entire security system to its
very core and pinpoints many a loophole in it.
Large-scale attacks in
succession show the failure of police. A police official
in anti-terrorism squad, not wanting to be named, says
that militants today do not lack both volunteers and resources
to undertake suicide attack -- a phenomenon that is evident
from the fact that two or more operatives were used in
most of the suicide attacks in Pakistan. He apprehends
that a weird call for potential suicide bombers is getting
across Pakistan and dozens of youth have nodded to this
command. "This conclusion is based on the fact that
over a dozen suicide bomb attacks have taken place within
a span of less than two years across the country,"
he adds.
Quoting investigation wing
of Punjab police, he says that some accused held in connection
with subversive acts in Punjab belong to the tribal areas
of Pakistan in the North West Frontier and Balochistan
provinces whereas dozens of young men from urban centres
have volunteered for new missions including suicidal attacks.
"Most of them are comparatively young men, usually
aged between 16 and 20 years," he adds.
The official believes that
the law enforcing agencies of Pakistan still doesn't know
how to tackle suicide bombings. Out of the four recent
subversive acts, three, including the one in Lahore, were
reportedly carried out by suicide bombers. Much before
that, on December 25, 2003, two militants attempted on
the life of President General Pervez Musharraf by trying
to ram their vehicles, each loaded with 20 to 30 kilograms
of explosives, into his car as his convoy drove through
Rawalpindi. Though they missed their goal, the subsequent
blast killed 15 people including some security personnel
and caused injuries to 46.
"What I mean to say
is that our police force is unable to track and stop suicide
bombers from striking. This menace cannot be stopped by
increasing pickets, regulating patrols and guarding places
of worship. The need of the time is that we do away with
checking poor motorcyclists on pickets and train our forces
on modern grounds. Suicide bombers all over the world
are using non-metallic explosives that cannot be easily
detected by scanners. But our police has no system in
place to detect such explosives," he adds.
The Capital City Police
Chief (CCPC) Lahore, DIG Tariq Saleem Dogar, also confesses
that so far there is no efficient system to check suicide
bombing in Pakistan. However, he says, in anticipation
of more attacks, police force has been deployed outside
worship places of different sects situated in sensitive
locations in Lahore.
"We cannot guard all
such places as it is not an easy task to keep a constant
vigil on each of more than 15,000 worship places including
mosques and imambargahs in Lahore, and search each and
every individual who enters them. Police officials themselves
are under threat from suicide bombers," the DIG adds.
He goes on to say, "despite
threats we are not afraid of any terrorist and ready to
go to any extent to maintain law and order in the city.
Security has been beefed up and strict vigil is being
kept on suspicious people hovering around sensitive spots
in the city".
Inspector Aftab Ahmed,
a senior instructor at Chuhng training school and an expert
in terrorism investigation says that unlike other assailants,
suicide bombers cannot be shot at or nabbed as they are
laden with heavy explosives.
"They have to be dealt
with technically. The suicide belt they wear has a vest
packed in it that carries explosives, detonator and objects
like nails, screws, bolts and other objects. The purpose
of using these sharp metallic objects in the belt is to
maximize the number of casualties. When explosive belts
explode, these sharp metallic objects fly in all directions
and pierce into people's flesh. It is actually a vest,
covering the entire stomach and usually has shoulder straps,"
says inspector Aftab.
"The dynamite used
by suicide bombers contains a mixture of explosives, including
nitroglycerin, ammonium nitrate, and sodium nitrate, absorbed
in some inert material such as sawdust," he says.
Throughout history, soldiers
and others have resorted to suicide attacks out of sudden
desperation and it is not an invention of the Islamist
militants alone. During the Crusades the Knights Templar
destroyed one of their own ships, killing 140 Christians
in order to kill ten times as many Muslims. In World War,
pilots acted as 'human missiles' by flying their planes,
heavily laden with explosives, directly into enemy warships.
In the Middle East, hundreds of suicide bombings have
been undertaken in the last few decades, primarily by
Arab men and youths. The Japanese Navy also used both
one and two-man piloted planes in suicide missions.
It is a global threat and
needs global attention as suicide bombings have occurred
in more than 20 countries including Argentina, China,
Columbia, Croatia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Kenya,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Panama, Russia, Philippines,
Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Uzbekistan,
Yemen and United States.
