THE grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al Sheikh, recently termed suicide bombers as “criminals” who will go to “hell”.

In the 1980s, suicide attacks were restricted to Sri Lanka, Lebanon and Kuwait. According to security expert Robert Pape, from 1980 to 2001 the world witnessed 188 attacks. But in the 1990s, bombers hit many places.

In the post-9/11 scenario “suicide terrorism” captured worldwide attention. The use of hijacked aircrafts in the 9/11 attacks changed the dynamics of diplomacy, politics and defence.

Suicide bombings require extensive background preparation. The tactic is employed in a situation where a group lacks resources and confronts a mighty enemy. The attackers hit civilians instead of the forces housed in fortified structures.

With one big explosion these organisations earn worldwide publicity and compel society to question the competence of its law enforcement agencies. Suicide terrorism enhances the bargaining strength of those that resort to it. Hugh Barlow, in his book Dead for Good, termed suicide attacks as the new development in the history of ‘martyrdom’, terming it “predatory martyrdom”.

The frequency of such attacks is high either where a regime is seen as sympathetic to a foreign occupant or a foreign force is directly administering an occupied territory. When an ideology appeals to the psychology of an individual, it facilitates the talent-hunter in conscripting the right man for the right job. The synchronisation of psychology and ideology kills geographical distances. Consequently, Fata has witnessed the influx of Chechens, Arabs, Africans and Uzbeks.

Dehumanisation and justification of the cause are persistently inculcated during extremists’ training. Geographic isolation suits their intense, goal-oriented training. Therefore, administrative reforms in areas where such training takes place reduces breathing space for such organisations. In Pakistan, the recent completion of the Tank-Jandola-Makeen road in South Waziristan is an initiative that will reduce the chance of the area’s utilisation for such sinister purposes.

Among the high-profile people who have been targeted and have survived terrorist attacks are Pervez Musharraf, Shaukat Aziz, Asfandyar Wali, Aftab Sherpao, Sikandar Sherpao, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Ghulam Bilour. Those who have been killed, along with hundreds of innocents, include Benazir Bhutto, Bashir Bilour, Israr Gandapur, Malik Saad and Safwat Ghayur.

To demoralise law enforcement agencies, extremist groups have targeted police and security agencies’ training facilities, including the Punjab Regiment centre in Mardan, the police training college in Hangu, Lahore’s Manawan police academy and a centre in Dera Ismail Khan.

Those planning such attacks have persistently changed strategies and targets. Unpredictability, secrecy, missionary zeal and credible information have empowered them to strike. They have shifted from Fata to the provincially administered tribal areas and settled areas, targeting the army, then the police and then recruits and civilians. The attackers have shuttled between soft and hard targets; public meetings, funerals, hotels, peace jirgas, mosques, imambargahs, churches, Ashura processions, polling stations, police stations, markets and buses can be included in the former category while high-profile individuals, diplomatic missions and sensitive installations represent the latter.

Radical changes in the frequency and technique of attacks have also been witnessed. According to statistics compiled by the website Pakistan Body Count, since 9/11 Pakistan faced 402 suicide attacks, 223 of them in KP alone and 18 in Islamabad itself.

During 2009 Pakistan was badly hit with 90 attacks, the highest-ever in a single year.

In Pakistan, suicide bombing is dominated by males, as opposed to the female suicide squads. In Chechnya, between 2000 and 2005, 43pc of such attacks were carried out by women. Using women attackers offers certain advantages such as extensive media coverage. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a woman suicide bomber in 1991, while Wafa Idris from Palestine also captured the attention of international media. In Pakistan, the first suicide attack by a woman was carried out in Peshawar in 2007.

The main hurdle in the prevention of suicide terrorism is that the area from where such groups operate is primarily Fata, while the targets are in settled areas. Various legal and administrative systems create hurdles in prevention and investigation. Reforms in Fata and more synchronised coordination between the administrations of the settled and tribal areas will strengthen law enforcement.

Without authentic information, attacks cannot be averted but law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies can reduce their incidence if we keep an eye on recruitment, indoctrination and training of extremist groups, as well as their sources of funding and the technology they use. With synchronised action, it is possible to protect citizens from a violent death.

The writer is a deputy inspector general of the police.

alibabakhel@hotmail.com