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Gilani: attempt to destabilise nation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned Sunday’s suicide bombing in the capital as an attempt to destabilise the country.

At least 17 people, 15 of them policemen, were killed in the bombing that took place close to the Lal Masjid on the first anniversary of the storming of the mosque by Army commandos to flush out militants.

Minutes before the attack, religious leaders and students had ended a commemorative rally at the Lal Masjid to mark the bloody operation against the mosque and the neighbouring Jamia Hafsa. The operation sparked anger against the government for the killing of “innocent students.” A wave of suicide bombings, apparently in retaliation, hit the country over the next few months, coming down after the election of the new government, which said it would negotiate with militants who wanted to lay down arms.

Sunday’s attack, observers said, was either a retaliatory attack against the Lal Masjid operation, or it could be a warning against the government’s recent change in strategy in dealing with militancy in the tribal areas

Two weeks ago, the government appeared to signal a change in its policy when it sent in paramilitary troops for operations against militant-cum-criminal groups operating in the Khyber tribal agency that were threatening the security of adjacent Peshawar, the main city in the North-West Frontier Province.

An umbrella group of Taliban militants called the Tehreek-i-Taliban threatened reprisals when the government launched the operations in Khyber, even though the Taliban and groups operating in Khyber are not linked. For its part, the government said it would use force only on a “selective” basis in areas where the militants were breaking the terms of talks and peace agreements.

The operation was put on hold last Saturday and a jirga is presently negotiating the terms of a peace deal between the government and Mangal Bagh, the leader of Lashkar-i-Islam, one of the targeted groups.

Mr. Gilani, who visited the injured in hospital on Monday, said thanks to arrangements made by the police, the entire day had passed off peacefully and the organisers had even expressed their appreciation of the security arrangements. “It’s a cowardly act by those who want to destabilise the country and want to malign religion Islam,” he added.

Mr. Gilani, who left for the D-8 developing countries’ conference in Malaysia on Monday, said the government would spare no effort to bring those behind the blast to book. Interior Secretary Kamal Shah told AFP it was too early to say who was behind the blast, but said special teams of investigators had been formed to probe the attack.

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