Wave of Terrorism in Southern Punjab, Pakistan, a Necessity to Take Timely Measures

by Zafar Aaheer, Resident Editor daily Jang, Multan

It has been our national tragedy that despite of timely identification and comprehension of the threats and instead of developing techniques to combat them, we close our eyes like pigeons and when we are trapped, we find such lame and humorous excuses to avoid the responsibility of the devastation and destruction caused by our incompetence that make people shed tears instead of laughing.

From governor Frontier province Awais Ghani to secret service agencies, everybody had been explicitly saying that not only the nurseries of extremism were being developed in southern Punjab, but also the young blood was being supplied from the region to be utilized in the border clashes. But like before, no one paid attention to the ever-ignored region of the southern Punjab, despite of the fact that from 2005 to 2007 there had been 22 bomb explosions in Dera Ghazi Khan which killed 2 people and injured 6. After the registration of cases for previous bomb explosions, 35 kilos of bomb making material was recovered and 3 suspects, Pakhro s/o Ali Baig Bugti in 12 cases, Sharif in 13 cases, Abdul Nabi s/o Raza Muhamamd in 12 cases, were challaned. On 31^st of January, 2005, a railway track was destroyed in the limits of Kot Mubarik police station. After 5 days, Tonsa Dhodhak Oil gas pipeline was blown on 5^th of February 2005. On 11^th of February 2005, Kot Chata oil pipeline was damaged in result of a bomb explosion. 5^th blast was again on a railway track in Kot Chatta. 6^th blast took place on 16^th of June 2005, in which, main line that supplied electricity to Baluchistan was blown near Fort Manro. On 6^th of September 2005, 7^th blast occurred on railway track near Chabri Wala.  On 11^th of December 2005, again the WAPDA main power supply line was attacked near Fort Manro. A WAPDA line in Fort Manro was targeted on 24^th of December 2005. On 4^th of January 2006, Police station Kot Mubarak, and the same day D.G. Khan Railway crossing blasts, Shaden Land on 27^th of January, then again on 29^th of January, whereas railway lines on Kot Chatta were targeted. Circular committee of Dera on 24^th of January, Gudai on 5^th of July, Goat market on 23^rd of September, and Tounsa Sharif Dala Stand were targeted on 28^th of September. Inside D.G. Khan, 2 blasts ripped apart between General Bus Stand and Animal Market. While again in D.G. Khan, the blast taking place last Thursday was the 23^rd blast.  

This sad and tragic latest act of terrorism caused the maximum death toll and destruction among all the previous blasts in the region.

Before we can get the synopsis of this wave of terrorism, it is very important to know about the sensitivity of the region of Southern Punjab. Like the tribal areas and FATA, this region has ever been sensitive. Aforementioned areas and the districts of Southern Punjab, such as Muzaffargarh, Layyah, D.G. Khan, majority areas of Rajanpur, whereas some areas of Multan, Khanewal and Vehari are on the top of the target list of those people who have been engaged in the efforts to spread anarchy and anxiety in Pakistan.

Before anything, seraiki and non-seraiki issues were tried to incite here but due to the traditional peace loving and soft nature of the native people, this conspiracy was badly crushed and those parties remained excessively unsuccessful in all the elections. When those elements working on to provoke anxiety and anarchy failed in their mission, they took the shelter of religion to take benefit of the poor and underprivileged people of the region.

In the decades of 80s, when Afghan jehad started, the scores of unemployed and deprived young men from southern Punjab were shown the dreams of heavens and dollars and fed to the war in Afghanistan. Religious parties working on the agenda of jehad had their offices officially opened in these areas for recruitment purposes. In comparable to Jehad in Afghanistan, people belonging to Ahl-e-Hadith school of thought recruited maximum young men in the name of Jehad-e-Kashmir from the platform of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba. This caused a big lot of youngsters to be equipped with combat training. After the Afghan war, when many young men came back to their homeland, they were utilized by Lashkar-e-Jhangwi, which utilized them to their maximum capacity and riots originated in the 90s in all the above mentioned districts of the region.

Malik Ishaq, Ghulam Rasool Shah and Riaz Basra and many others belonged to Lashkar-e-Jhangwi, who are either dead now or arrested in police jails. Strong steps initiated by the government caused majority of these people to either go underground or flee again to Afghanistan. After the stepping in of United States in Afghanistan and closure of Kashmir Jehad by Musharaf government, majority of these people again returned to Southern Punjab. But before these Jihadists could find the ways of heaven in this region, Jihad started in the tribal areas of the Frontier province. These people turned back to it. And also not to mention, Laal Masjid event also triggered the rise of Jihadists in this area.

Another thing that is worth mentioning here is that the areas of D.G. Khan and Rajanpur, which are populated alongside the Koh-e-Suleman, are quite the same in their nature as those in FATA and are called “Ilaqa Ghair” locally. State law does not prevail. Tribal rulers rule here. Arms and weapons are available in abundance. These weapons arrive from Dera Bugti and other areas. Russian weapons are brought in from Afghanistan via Baluchistan to Southern Punjab, and are easily carried forward to Frontier taking the route from Bhakar, Mianwali to Dera Ismail Khan and then to Frontier province.

Because there is more poverty and deprivation in this part of the land, an increasing number of young men are turning towards so-called Jihad after getting worn-out of trouble and pain caused by unemployment. Local landlords and influential people have played a major role in containing the spread of education to the common people. Due to which, the young men of this area are being easily trapped. Majority of people cannot not send their children to schools due to poverty, instead of that, there efforts are to get their children admitted in Madrasas, which not only offer free education, but also offer free residence and food.  This is one of the reasons for a heightened trend towards religion here.

In spite of this critical situation, government has not taken any steps that can eliminate the basic factors in these areas which compel the young men to follow the route of terror and extremism. In the past, administrative officers had been posted on purely political basis. Here, it is a worth-noting fact that in D.G. Khan, which is a very sensitive area, such a police officer was made the incharge of the district, who remained posted as DPO Muzaffargarh, and during his tenor, a frightening gang of serial killers and loots known as Bosan Gang, established and committed crimes and attempts such as murders, looting, armed robberies in hundreds of numbers. In similar fashion, when he was DPO Rajanpur, dacoits had their own states in the district, which were ruled by gangs like Ghulam Rasool Chotu Gang, Baba Long Gang, Bhand Gang. Now this officer has been posted in D.G. Khan where already a chain of bomb blast had started and so Allah is protector of the citizens of D.G. Khan now.

Another tragedy with this area is that during every democratic or undemocratic rule, local landlords, feudal lords have found their ways to the highest platforms and parliaments of the country, but they failed to take their people out of this vicious circle of poverty. Industries in the area are out of question, despite of the fact that 95% of the people living here are attached with agriculture; one cannot even find water to cultivate the lands. Due to which, young man of today is finding horrible ways for himself after getting sick of poverty and deprivation.

It is the need of time, when prime minister, foreign minister and defense minister  of the country belong from this same region; they must take steps while keeping in consideration the aspects and eliminate those factors due to which this area can again get caught in the web of terrorism. Not only that they should make arrangement for employment but also only those administrative officers should be posted whose performance has been highly satisfactory. And while considering the chain of events in the past, and in order to curb the ever increasing wave of extremism, those people should be highly observed who had been the cause of riots in the 90s here.