THE daring raid conducted by militants in the small hours of Friday, in which a police station was attacked in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan, will heighten the sense of insecurity prevailing in the region. GB has seen horrific sectarian violence in the past, which is why even the slightest militant activity is enough to ring alarm bells. What is most worrying is that the three dozen or so attackers who tied up the six policemen on duty were reportedly attired in military uniform. This is the fourth reported incident in the area in which militants donning security forces’ uniform have been involved in attacks. Past major incidents include the massacre of mostly Shia passengers who were pulled off buses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohistan district, which borders GB, and Babusar Top. Last year’s brutal slaying of 10 climbers at the Nanga Parbat base camp was also carried out by men wearing uniforms. Also troubling is the booty the attackers walked off with, which included weapons, ammunition, wireless sets and police uniforms.

GB is a highly volatile region; while things have been quiet on the sectarian front in the recent past, instability in Fata and KP can have a spillover effect in the area. Both the regional and central governments and Islamabad, as well as the security establishment, need to keep a vigilant eye on happenings in GB, as militants may be looking to stir up trouble. The military specifically needs to investigate how the militants have been able to acquire their uniform. In the short term, patrolling needs to be stepped up, especially in the area bordering KP, while intelligence agencies must keep tabs on extremists within GB. In the longer term, the capabilities of the local police need to be vastly improved. While jihadi groups in the region may be lying low, as the Diamer raid shows they can strike at will, and the police appear to be in no position to challenge them effectively. The country cannot allow a new threat to emerge at an already disturbing juncture.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2014