And the way forward
Despite the claim by the ISPR of a breakthrough in identifying the terrorists who attacked the Bacha Khan University (BKU) what we know so far can be stated in a single sentence: the four attackers were in touch with a cell phone number from Afghanistan and the SIMs they used were of Afghan origin.
In a statement Umar Mansoor of TTP (Geedar group) has accepted responsibility for the attack. Mansoor is considered to be the mastermind of a number of attacks in Pakistan, including the attack on APS. Presumably he crossed over to Afghanistan after the operation in Khyber Agency. The four attackers were presumably being handled by Umar Mansoor.
So far we do not have full information about the attackers. Two of them were identified on Thursday, presumably on the basis of their fingerprints and other forensic data There is a likelihood of the other two being also recognised soon. In case they were Pakistani nationals and cared to register with NADRA, establishing their identity would pose no problem.
Earlier, reports that the attackers were wearing suicide jackets which they could not explode have now been contradicted. Instead of being highly trained, the attackers acted like amateurs. They had insufficient ammunition that would have been consumed during a few minutes of the encounter with security forces. They carried no food items indicating they had no plans to stay or take hostages. Presumably they wanted to disappear soon after the initial killings but could not do so on account of the university guards and armed villagers who had surrounded the area.
The latest reports indicate that their facilitators were local people. Those who provided them shelter to spend the night before attack have been arrested. All of them belonged to Charsadda district
This looks like the working of a small group rather than a conspiracy jointly organised by the military establishments of two countries.
The latest reports indicate that their facilitators were local people. Those who provided them shelter to spend the night before attack have been arrested. All of them belonged to Charsadda district. Thus the attackers, their handlers and their facilitator were Pakistani citizens.
This explains why a cautious FO maintained that it was too early to say who was behind the BKU attack. The FO spokesman had also asked journalists to avoid jumping to conclusions and instead wait for the completion of investigations.
However, a blame game is already on to divert the attention from the real issues with ulterior motives.
Some of the people see the hand of India behind the BKU incident. Didn’t Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar threaten Pakistan of reprisals at a time and place of India’s choice to avenge the Pathankot attack, asks a columnist? Isn’t India using Afghanistan’s territory to destabilise Pakistan? Manohar Parrikar is a copy of the extremists that we find in plenty in Pakistan also. However, the rest of Indian leadership reacted more sensibly this time to the Pathankot attack.
The day after the attack on BKU an Urdu daily carried three reports on the first page of its web edition claiming that the conspiracy to attack the university was hatched in an Indian consulate in Afghanistan. Mullah Fazlullah’s right hand man was paid Rs3,500,000 by the consulate to carry out the assignment. Fazlullah’s commander remained in constant touch with the attackers.
It is claimed in one of these reports that the plan for attack was prepared in India and the terrorists who came from Afghanistan were being monitored by three unspecified foreign agencies.
One thing common to all these reports is that they quote no source of their “information.” That the terrorists were in touch with their handlers in Afghanistan is understandable as a number of terrorist outfits of Pakistani origin have been pushed by Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Operation Khyber-I and Khyber-II across the border into the adjoining Afghan provinces. This does not necessarily imply that they enjoy the support of the Afghan establishment. The central role reportedly played by India, the money paid to the handlers and three foreign agencies monitoring the implementation of the plan have been fabricated overnight to create sensation.
The cock-and-bull stories are aimed at weakening the moves towards détente. What is more these are aimed at confusing the public and creating hindrances in the implementation of the National Action Plan
The instantly cooked up story of India and Afghanistan being together behind the attack on BKU comes up at a time when New Delhi, Kabul and Islamabad are on the way to mend their relations. The Heart of Asia Conference, followed by two quadrilateral meetings at Islamabad and Kabul, has brightened the prospects of Pak-Afghan understanding. The historic opportunity must not be lost. The supporters of the terrorist networks, who are currently playing possum, realise that the development will harm their interests. Tensions between the countries of the region suits the terrorist networks as it takes the attention of the governments away from them. Peace in the region on the other hand releases a synergy that can destroy the networks. The cock-and-bull stories are aimed at weakening the moves towards détente. What is more these are aimed at confusing the public and creating hindrances in the implementation of the National Action Plan.
The COAS has righty approached the Afghan government leadership for cooperation to help bring to justice the mastermind, planners and handlers of the attack. Afghanistan is itself beset with terrorist groups ranging from the Afghan Taliban, the TTP and the IS-Khorasan. As things stand neither Kabul nor Islamabad are in a position to deal with these terrorist networks on their own. They must join hands to take them on through hammer and anvil tactics along the terrorist infected border.
Last week the US designated the IS-Khorasan as a foreign terrorist organisation. US military commanders have been given the authority to target the group’s fighters in Afghanistan. The network comprises dissidents from the TTP and the Afghan Taliban. The IS-Khorasan has established its hold on a district in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province adjoining FATA. Early this month the networks claimed responsibility for an attack on the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar, that left at least seven members of the Afghan security forces dead. If not jointly tackled the group can launch attacks inside Pakistan also. A number of terrorists nabbed on Wednesday by the Karachi police were reportedly making recruitments for the group there.
It is time Pakistan, Afghanistan and US join forces to nip the evil in the bud. The danger posed by irresponsible media reports in Pakistan is that they are likely to lead to reciprocal media campaign from Afghanistan by an equally rabid fringe on the other side of the Durand Line.