Adil Najam
This montage of headlines from Dawn need little explanation. It represents seven headlines; one each from each of the last seven days (Nov. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, 2009). All except one were headlines on Dawn, and one (Nov. 13, 2009) was on the back page. The fact that the killing of 17 Pakistani soldiers will not make it to the front page of a Pakistani newspaper is itself a stern reminder of the craziness that defines our polity today!
There is little ‘news value’ in this montage. But, maybe it deserves just a moment’s silence from all of us. Maybe a moment of reflection on that which is truly important.
We post this merely as a reminder to ourselves that Pakistan remains at war. Pakistanis remain under attack. Our territory remains occupied by the enemy. The relentness of the violence can nudge the routine daily ugliness into the background and the seductiveness of tiltilating conspiracies and scandals can provide ready relief even to those whose job it is to keep reminding us of that which is truly existential for all our futures.
And so, we post this as a reminder to ourselves. Pakistan remains at war. Pakistanis continue to die. Pakistan continues to cry. Lest we forget.
Ayesha raises an interesting point. These Taliban are systematically targeting Pukhtuns and Pakhtun areas more . Although they seem to enjoy killing all Pakistanis everywhere!
More killing of Pakistanis by these Taliban today. From THE NEWS
12 perish in another suicide car blast; four children, three women, two cops among dead
By Javed Aziz Khan
PESHAWAR: Twelve people, including three women and four children, were killed and 26 others injured in a suicide car bomb blast at a police check-post on the Ring Road Chowk in the suburban Pishtakhara village here Saturday.
It was the fourth suicide attack in Peshawar during the last six days.
Eyewitnesses said the bomber coming from the Ring Road probably wanted to enter the Cantonment area where the military installations and government offices are located. He detonated the explosives-laden car when policemen at the security barrier on the Bara Road tried to stop him at around 4:30 pm. The check-post is located almost a kilometre to the west of the Peshawar International Airport and two kilometres from the limits of the Cantonment.
Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Liaquat Ali Khan confirmed the killing of 10 people and injuries to 20 others. “It was a suicide attack. The cops signalled the vehicle to halt for checking when the bomber struck,” he added. He praised a policeman for sacrificing his life to save others.
One of the cops on duty was killed while others sustained injuries. Those killed included a woman Nazia, her three-year-old daughter Rehana, Zarshana (wife of Mahmood), an unnamed young daughter of Khalil Khan, a student of the PAF College Kamran, Kashif Zakir, Amjad Rahman, Adnan, Rahman and Ameerullah.
Bodies and injured were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), the Khyber Teaching Hospital and the Hayatabad Medical Complex where a state of emergency had been declared.
Those wounded also included women passing the area. Some of the injured were identified as Azad, Muslim, Akbar Khan, Yousuf, Gul Hameed, Tariq, Noor Bibi and Murad Ali.
Nine of the injured succumbed to their injuries at hospitals. Another 25 wounded are under treatment.
NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain reached the LRH to enquire about the injured.
Seven vehicles, including a van of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, were destroyed in the blast and a number of nearby houses and some shops were partially damaged.
Officials of the bomb disposal unit (BDU) estimated that 50 to 60 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack involving a white Suzuki Alto car, which reportedly came from the Bara side in Khyber Agency. According to DSP (BDU) Tanveer, mortar shells were loaded in the car to cause maximum casualties and damage.
Meanwhile, a high-level security meeting was held late on Saturday at the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines where Additional Chief Secretary Home Fiaz Ahmad Toru, IGP Malik Naveed, CCPO Liaqat Ali, SSP Coordination Alam Shinwari and SSP Operations Karim Khan along with other officials discussed the growing terrorist attacks in the city. The meeting decided to take immediate measures to avoid more casualties and losses in coming days.
District Coordination Officer (DCO) Sahibzada Mohammad Anis said the barricade in Pishtakhara village was set up to stop the entry of terrorists into the Peshawar Cantonment and policemen on duty sacrificed their lives to avoid any major disaster in the city. He added that the government was looking to get explosive detectors to be provided at all the entry-points, and for the purpose funds had been sanctioned.
The barricade that was attacked in Saturday’s bombing was erected on the Bara Road in a square where one route leads towards Hayatabad, another to Bara subdivision of Khyber Agency and one more to the Kohat Road.
NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour told reporters at the LRH that those involved in killing of innocent women, children and other people were “beasts”. “We will never hold talks with those who are killing our children, sisters and brothers. They are barbarians, they are neither Muslims nor humans,” said the minister.
Bilour was of the view that terrorists were being funded by foreign elements. “We will fight till their elimination or our death. They have killed Benazir Bhutto and thousands of others across the country,” the nationalist leader said.
Agencies add: Malik Jehangir, in charge of the checkpoint, told AFP that policemen were checking vehicles when he saw a suspicious black car across the barrier and asked one of the policemen to go and check it.
“I saw that there was some argument between the driver and the policeman and suddenly a blast downed me with shrapnel piercing my shoulder,” he said.
Another witness, Akbar Ali, said that he was riding a motorcycle and waiting in the queue at the checkpoint when he saw a scuffle between the bomber and the policeman.
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and others have strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Pishtakhara.
In their separate messages, the president and premier expressed deep sorrow and grief over the loss of lives and said the government will speed up efforts to wipe out extremists and terrorists from the country.
PML-N Quaid Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Governor Salmaan Taseer, NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani, Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti and Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi also condemned the blast.
I was at the store and the salesman was a pakistani (my brother). I would not reveal his ethnicity because it doesnt matter, most of them think the same way. Like your brain is trapped in a box and you are only allowed to think whatever is fed to you.
Right off the bat, he said “yeh sub India karwa raha he” Atleast he spared America this time.
I watched him silently as he would not have an eye contact. I could see the pain in his eyes, as it hurts to believe that its your own people so you look for excuses.
India may have and I say may have sparked the fire but the lava was boiling to explode from long time. Self created lava.
Pakistani Talibans are the lowest and the lowest form of humans, vicious people who explode innocent people body parts, have no respect for humans and are not the innocent children who would follow the Indians blindly.
At this point, I would like to tribute to pakistani army, regular soldiers who are giving their lives daily so that we can breath freely and live however we want to live.
Wish it never had to be like this.
On the one hand the government and the military have now taken on the extremists and murdering Taliban in a real way. On the other hand the media and even modern youth like rock stars are so blinded by anti-Americanism that they are becoming defacto supporters of the Taliban. This is a really dangerous development because unless you have society against these enemies of Pakistan, they will ultimately win.
Does someone know the number of Pakstanis killed by the Taliban this year. Soldiers as well as civilians (they seem to be mostly killing Pathans in NWFP)?