IN yet another incursion from the other side of the Durand Line, over 300 militants armed with sophisticated weapons, attacked villages in Bajaur Agency on Thursday, killing five people, three women and two children, while eight others sustained injuries. In the pre-dawn attack, the group of militants crossed over the Pak-Afghan border along the Kunar province of Afghanistan and attacked Pakistani villages Manu Jangal and tukha, adjacent to the border at tehsil Mamoond.
This was the first incident of the kind in Bajaur but in a similar attack in Upper Dir, 27 personnel of law enforcing agencies and five civilians were killed recently. The latest infiltration is all the more tragic and provoking as it comes following visit of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to Pakistan where he had held out an assurance to take action to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future. It is quite obvious that these attacks have full backing and support of the NATO occupation forces in Afghanistan and these are part of the pressure tactics to force Pakistan to do more. While game plan of the US and NATO is quite clear, the response and reaction of our agencies and relevant organization is also worrisome for people of Pakistan. Now that such incursions are becoming a routine, it is duty of our armed forces and other agencies to exercise greater vigilance and retaliate with full forces to protect life of our citizens but so far their response is totally lacking. What over one hundred thousand troops are doing on the Western border if they are unable to detect such incursions and act to thwart attempt s by the enemy to terrorize our people? It seems their mandate is to stop infiltration from this side of the border and act as a silent spectator to attacks from the other side! It is also mysterious that our authorities are also not raising this issue in right earnest with Afghan Government or the US and NATO forces. Such provocative acts and lack of response from our leadership conveys an impression of Pakistan being an orphan state, which is really shameful.
This was the first incident of the kind in Bajaur but in a similar attack in Upper Dir, 27 personnel of law enforcing agencies and five civilians were killed recently. The latest infiltration is all the more tragic and provoking as it comes following visit of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to Pakistan where he had held out an assurance to take action to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future. It is quite obvious that these attacks have full backing and support of the NATO occupation forces in Afghanistan and these are part of the pressure tactics to force Pakistan to do more. While game plan of the US and NATO is quite clear, the response and reaction of our agencies and relevant organization is also worrisome for people of Pakistan. Now that such incursions are becoming a routine, it is duty of our armed forces and other agencies to exercise greater vigilance and retaliate with full forces to protect life of our citizens but so far their response is totally lacking. What over one hundred thousand troops are doing on the Western border if they are unable to detect such incursions and act to thwart attempt s by the enemy to terrorize our people? It seems their mandate is to stop infiltration from this side of the border and act as a silent spectator to attacks from the other side! It is also mysterious that our authorities are also not raising this issue in right earnest with Afghan Government or the US and NATO forces. Such provocative acts and lack of response from our leadership conveys an impression of Pakistan being an orphan state, which is really shameful.