Over the last few weeks Balochistan has been hit with a plaguing wave of terrorism. It started with the Hazarganji market attack in April, targeting the local Hazara population and killing at least 20, then just a few days later, 14 innocent travelers were murdered in cold blood, close to Ormara, solely because of their ethnicity. Next came the attack on Pearl Continental Hotel (PC) in Gwadar last week when 3 armed terrorist entered the hotel and were tackled in a military operation resulting in deaths of 4 security forces personnel. The last attack, the second one within 3 days, was at Satellite Town in Quetta where a Police vehicle was targeted in a blast; killing 4 Police personnel and injuring 12 others including civilians.
The Hazarganji attack was claimed by both, Lashkar e Jhangvi (LeJ) and the Islamic State (IS). The attack at Ormara was claimed by Baloch Raaji Ajoi e Sangar (BRAS) or the Baloch Republican Army. The one at PC Gwadar was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) while the latest attack in Satellite Town in Quetta has been claimed by Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
While there is a different claimant for each of these attacks, the intention is the same; to undermine the sovereignty and security of the State of Pakistan. These self-righteous groups of people, often claiming to be fighting for the greater good, are nothing but terrorists, consistently trying their hardest to cause the most harm they can to the State and its people.
They have been murdering innocent Pakistanis for almost two decades; fulfilling the wishes of their foreign financiers. They have fought against and lost to Pakistani Security forces during multiple military operations. Yet, every few months they try to raise their heads again with acts of violence and terrorism, just to prove that they are still present and alive, even as they’re losing in numbers.
While the claimants of these attacks may feel like they’re winning, Pakistan has withstood years and years of these groups who try to undermine its sovereignty. We have taken severe hits in our war against terrorism and come out on the other side, stronger than ever. Attacks like these, no matter how frequent, can never succeed in subduing our fervor to combat terrorism as a nation.
