A dismantled IED.—Photo by author
Effects of IEDs
Apart from death, the intense pressure from and IED blast can burst eardrums and cause the brain to smash against the inside of the skull, leading to deafness, concussion, blindness, and swelling of the brain, according to Dr Zeeshan at the Hayatabad Medical Complex.
An IED explosion can damage vehicles and property due to blast wave, heat and fire. According to Mr Malik, the KP government needs to control the production, transportation and sale of ammonium nitrate fertilisers, commercial explosives and other ingredients used in IEDs.
“The government needs to establish an inspectorate to keep a check on factories that are using explosive material for commercial purposes,” he suggested. Selling commercial explosives to criminals is a profitable business, he adds.
Mr Malik says that during 2013 a huge decline was witnessed in IED explosions after the federal government revoked the licences for transporting commercial explosives.
However, he says that this is not an effective solution since it only targeted their transportation and not production.
Establishment of an inspectorate
After the passage of the 18th amendment to the Constitution, the KP government passed the Explosives Act in September 2013 in order to regulate explosives and avoid their misuse. The Home & Tribal Affairs Department was tasked to establish an inspectorate to monitor the use of commercial explosives at district and tehsil levels.
However, Additional Secretary Home and Tribal Affair Department Siraj Ahmad told this reporter that it would take further time to establish the inspectorate since the hiring of staff required federal approval.
He also revealed that no policy has been devised yet to regulate commercial explosives.
Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2016