Lahore attack

More black days

With almost 60 confirmed deaths till the time of writing, and most of the hundreds injured fighting for their lives, Sunday’s attack is already one of the worst of this long war, especially for Lahore. The CTD had been on a bit of a roll recently – taking out terrorists up and down the country – but it seems Punjab police left a little to be desired regarding security of vulnerable public places. That people throng to parks across Lahore on holidays is well known; yet Iqbal Park was without even minimum security. It had no guards, according to press reports, even the walls were without mandatory barbed wire, and there were no CCTV cameras.

That is precisely why the official machinery’s initial explanation is unacceptable. The DIG and DCO simply said such attacks cannot really be ruled out in such wars. While that is partially true, government officials do not look good falling back on such excuses when they have not put minimum deterrence protocols in place. True, the country has come a long way since Zarb-e-Azb. But when war-time preparedness is such that the enemy can simply walk into a public place filled with women and children – with almost 10kgs of explosives – and blow himself up, the government has much to answer for. The chief minister was nowhere to be seen throughout the crisis – apart from announcing the three-day mourning, of course – and it is little surprise that the military had to be called in.

Things are not much rosier in Islamabad, where law enforcement agencies were again caught off guard as the mob rampaged through the city, setting fire to a number of containers as well as a metro station, besides injuring a good two dozen police and Rangers officials. There, too, the military had to be called in to put a lid on things. The political government has been repeatedly reminded of its inability to implement NAP in letter in spirit. Sunday provided yet another confirmation of its being behind the curve, as usual. It must pull its act together otherwise its negligence will cause the people to suffer more black days.