The Pakistani Taliban have once again proved that they haven’t been weakened and have the ability to launch massive attacks. In an assault that shook the nation, the militants yesterday stormed the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the volatile northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 19 people and wounding dozens. The attack comes when memories are still fresh about the massacre of 134 students at a school in the same region after which the government had launched a massive country-wide crackdown on terrorists, especially in their strongholds along the lawless border with Afghanistan. There was some relief that this crackdown had to some extent destroyed the terrorist network but the latest incident proves the opposite. The death toll is expected to rise and according to a security official, could rise to as high as 40. Four gunmen were also killed. A senior Pakistani Taliban commander involved in the December 2014 attack on the army school in Peshawar
claimed responsibility for the university assault.
Terrorist attacks are nothing new in Pakistan, but recently the Taliban have adopted the hideous method of targeting educational institutions. According to a report, since 2011, there have been 29 attacks on schools and universities in Pakistan. Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai herself was shot by Taliban for her support to girls education. The militants abhor education. Yesterday’s attack was especially barbaric for the day it was chosen. The university was set to host a poetry recital in afternoon to commemorate the death anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a popular ethnic Pashtun independence leader after whom the university is named. Abdul Ghaffar Khan, called Bacha Khan, was among the triumvirate of heroes Malala mentioned in a speech to the United Nations, alongside Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela. That the Taliban unleashed their attack on this great leader’s death anniversary shows their contempt towards great ideals and icons.
Pakistan has a long way to go to defeat terrorism. The government of Nawaz Sheriff has been determined in its resolve to crush the Taliban, and despite all the setbacks, it is expected to continue its efforts. “We are determined and resolved in our commitment to wipe out the menace of terrorism from our homeland,” Nawaz Sharif said in a statement.
The government must launch a fresh crackdown which must continue until the Taliban are crippled, and reevaluate its strategy to make the offensive more effective. Protection for schools and universities must be increased and security guards at these institutions must be given enough training to handle terrorists.
The Pakistani Taliban have once again proved that they haven’t been weakened and have the ability to launch massive attacks. In an assault that shook the nation, the militants yesterday stormed the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the volatile northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 19 people and wounding dozens. The attack comes when memories are still fresh about the massacre of 134 students at a school in the same region after which the government had launched a massive country-wide crackdown on terrorists, especially in their strongholds along the lawless border with Afghanistan. There was some relief that this crackdown had to some extent destroyed the terrorist network but the latest incident proves the opposite. The death toll is expected to rise and according to a security official, could rise to as high as 40. Four gunmen were also killed. A senior Pakistani Taliban commander involved in the December 2014 attack on the army school in Peshawar
claimed responsibility for the university assault.
Terrorist attacks are nothing new in Pakistan, but recently the Taliban have adopted the hideous method of targeting educational institutions. According to a report, since 2011, there have been 29 attacks on schools and universities in Pakistan. Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai herself was shot by Taliban for her support to girls education. The militants abhor education. Yesterday’s attack was especially barbaric for the day it was chosen. The university was set to host a poetry recital in afternoon to commemorate the death anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a popular ethnic Pashtun independence leader after whom the university is named. Abdul Ghaffar Khan, called Bacha Khan, was among the triumvirate of heroes Malala mentioned in a speech to the United Nations, alongside Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela. That the Taliban unleashed their attack on this great leader’s death anniversary shows their contempt towards great ideals and icons.
Pakistan has a long way to go to defeat terrorism. The government of Nawaz Sheriff has been determined in its resolve to crush the Taliban, and despite all the setbacks, it is expected to continue its efforts. “We are determined and resolved in our commitment to wipe out the menace of terrorism from our homeland,” Nawaz Sharif said in a statement.
The government must launch a fresh crackdown which must continue until the Taliban are crippled, and reevaluate its strategy to make the offensive more effective. Protection for schools and universities must be increased and security guards at these institutions must be given enough training to handle terrorists.
