MORE than 128 citizens were martyred in the Mastung attack, leaving the entire country in mourning. Balochistan, which already lags behind in facilities, faced one of the worst attacks in the history of Pakistan. The morgues were filled and no space was left to keep the bodies. Appeals for blood donations were circulated on social media.

Blaming India for the recent terror attacks is not enough. Criticising the performance of security agencies is easy, but it should be accepted that suicide attacks are uncontrollable.

In public gatherings like election campaigns, it is almost impossible to stop a person if he wants to blow himself up. It is more worrisome that these attacks are being carried out at election rallies.

This was the third attack in a week on election candidates in which two lost their lives. Siraj Raisani and Haroon Bilour both were valiant men who stood against the anti-state forces working in their areas.

The anti-state powers killed them but they cannot kill the ideology these brave men left behind them. For the recent attack in Mastung, giving the title of ‘shaheed’ or ‘brave son of the soil’ does not cover the security lapse. It was a brutal massacre.

Mere titles erode national integration Security agencies need to crackdown on those who are responsible for this bloodshed.

Lala Rukh Shehnaz Naqvi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2018