EVEN with a substantial decrease in incidents of terrorism and conflict in the country, there are constant, perilous reminders of the months and years of bloodshed that Pakistan has suffered. One of the latest of such reminders was the death of three children on Friday in Killi Behram town of Balochistan’s Washuk district. According to a statement issued by the Levies force, the children — two boys and a girl, aged from seven to 10 years — found a live grenade and were playing with it when it exploded, an occurrence that is not uncommon in some parts of the country. A fourth child was injured, and is being treated at the CMH in Khuzdar district.

In any country with a long history of violence, it behoves the state to educate the population of the dangers that exist, and to take steps to prevent tragedies such as this. There have been several incidents in conflict zones where the lives of children and adults alike have been snuffed out by explosive material. In fact, the inability of the state to check the proliferation of arms across the country has resulted in several tragedies. There have been a number of cases where children have come across and ‘experimented’ with ‘gadgets’ they ought to have no truck with; and others where guns in the hands of security guards, for example, have gone off accidentally. What is urgently needed now are measures to prevent needless tragedies, for which spreading awareness among citizens about the dangers of items such as IEDs is essential, so that they are better able to protect themselves and their families. Liaising with local people in areas that have seen (or are still vulnerable to) conflict, and teaching them to recognise harmful explosives is as necessary as the authorities identifying the places that pose the most risk. It is time the government took note of these lethal remnants of war, and evolved a plan for their removal, while delivering mine risk education to the population.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2019