ISLAMABAD: A protest demonstration was held outside the National Press Club to condemn the Quetta suicide attack on Tuesday.

The protest was organised by the National Party (NP) Islamabad, Awami Workers Party (AWP) and the National Student Federation (NSF).

Speaking on the occasion, Aasim Sajjad Akhtar, the president of AWP Punjab chapter, said: “The scourge of extremism prevails in our society. There are many factors that promote it, and we sow the seeds while blaming other countries for spreading violence.”

He said even the US had acknowledged that its own policies in the region over the years helped give rise to Taliban. But Islamabad still remains in a state of denial saying no Pakistani or Muslim can be part of any terrorist activity, and that it is all a foreign conspiracy. He said Pakistan needed to shake off this mentality.

“The government has failed in providing security to the people of Pakistan,” said Sidra Saeed, the president of the NP Islamabad. She said some of her party’s dedicated members such as Chakir Khan, Qazi Bashir and others lost their lives in the terror attack.

“We must be concerned about the future. The government needs to acknowledge its weaknesses and move forward with a sincere resolve to make the country terror free.”

Waleed Bezanjo, the vice president of NP Islamabad, said the Quetta attack had left the nation shattered.

“As a nation, we mourn this tragedy; our hearts are broken and we continue to grieve endlessly. In this calamity, we stand united with the affected families and the lawyers. We pray for the departed souls. The barbarians might have killed our brothers but every time they shed our blood, we will come back stronger and tougher. We will retaliate with our free thoughts, with our freedom of speech. And we will defeat them with the power of our pens. They may kill too many of us but they will never have our obedience.”

AWP secretary Nusrat Hussain said the terror attack showed how the state had left the citizens of Balochistan at the mercy of barbarian terrorists.

“The state has long been using a policy of militant Islamisation as a way to counter Baloch nationalists. Brutal attacks like this are a logical consequence of this policy.”

He said the AWP rejected the twisted ideology of religious extremism and considered it a threat to humanity. It is time to undertake long-term political steps to uproot the foundational basis of terrorism, including substantive curriculum reforms, establishing friendly relations with neighbouring countries, the nationalisation of religious seminaries, ending the interference of the Gulf states in Pakistan’s internal affairs besides clamping down on hate speeches in the media.

AWP founding member Ismat Shahjahan said despite the sweeping powers granted to the paramilitary forces in Balochistan, the government was still unable to prevent the killing of its citizens.

She asked why bodies of nationalists were found littering the roads while leaders of banned extremist outfits were released from jail and allowed to spread their hatred across the province.

Amna Mawaz of the AWP said the massacre in Quetta proved that there was no such thing as good extremist groups as none of them had an iota of humanity in them. Instead of pointing fingers at foreign conspiracies, the authorities concerned should be made accountable.

NP Islamabad senior vice-president Saad Baloch said: “It is unfortunate that many young and educated people have been lost in the attack. The nation has seen brutal incidents in the recent past, including the APS attack and many others, and now it faces yet another. It is time to reexamine state policies towards terrorism.”

Lawyers protest

Lawyers in the capital on Tuesday observed a full day strike to condemn the Quetta terrorist attack.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has summoned a meeting to review the security situation on its premises on Wednesday, while the district courts called a similar meeting on Tuesday.

The strike call was given by the Islamabad Bar Council (IBC), Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) and the District Bar Association of Islamabad (DBAI).

The three organisations also held a general body meeting, followed by the protest, to express solidarity with the families of the victims. The protest was attended by the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Syed Ali Zafar, Pakistan Bar Council member Mohammad Shoaib Shaheen and representatives of the IBC, IHCBA and DBAI.

The IHC meeting will be chaired by Justice Athar Minallah.

On Tuesday, the IHC registrar inspected security equipment installed in various parts of the court premises.

The registrar asked the police authorities to increase the number of security officials at the high court.

The district and sessions judge (east), Sohail Imran, presided over a meeting with security staff and representatives of DBAI. He asked the district administration to increase Rangers’ deployment in the district courts.

He also asked the administration to replace the out-of-date security technology and provide foolproof security to the subordinate judiciary.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2016