ISLAMABAD: Civil society activists and citizens gathered outside the National Press Club on Saturday to protest the recent terrorist attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Over 120 people, including Balochistan Awami Party candidate Nawabzada Siraj Raisani, were killed when a suicide bomber attacked an election rally in Mastung’s Darengarh area on Friday, whereas over 20 people, including ANP candidate Haroon Bilour, died in a suicide attack in Peshawar on Tuesday. Another attack took place on the convoy of MMA candidate Akram Khan Durrani in Bannu on Friday in which four people were killed.

Protesters condemned the incidents and said it was clear evidence of failure on the part of law enforcement and intelligence agencies. They demanded that the government implement the National Action Plan and ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future.

Human rights activist Farzana Bari demanded strict action against the culprits of the tragic incidents.

Steps need to be taken to eliminate the root cause of terrorism, she said.

“We have to change the curriculum of educational institutions and change policies that are already increasing violence and intolerance in society. We have faced too much loss and time has come to change our policies,” she said.

Speaking about the incident in Mastung, Fatima Hazara said this was not the first incident in which over a hundred people had died, and similar incidents had taken place a number of times in the past. She said such incidents were clear evidence of failure of law enforcement agencies.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2018