Of bombs, militancy and closure of schools

By Afzal Hussain Bokhari

With mixed feelings of horror and amusement, the frightened bystanders outside Hayatabad’s Swan restaurant and wedding hall watched as members of a paramilitary force took into custody two suspected saboteurs who could have been involved in Friday’s car bomb blast outside the well-maintained eatery in Phase II.

In their bid to blindfold the suspects, the law enforcing personnel randomly tied a handkerchief over the eyes of a tall youth in blue jeans and a red vest. As far as the other suspect in ‘shalwar qamees’ was concerned, the jawans of the paramilitary force proved more innovative. They pulled up the front part of his shirt and spread it over his face.

This was not the first time, nor perhaps the last, that unidentified saboteurs had struck the NWFP metropolis with explosives. In fact it was the third consecutive Friday that they had made the provincial capital a target of violence. By the reckoning of a common man, the saboteurs had made a hat trick of car bomb explosions.

Located at the confluence of Phase I and II, the restaurant had been a favourite rendezvous of local gormandizers. At least once or twice, every prominent resident of Hayatabad had attended the walima dinner of distant cousin. Seated by the poolside and munching on the chicken leg piece, the guests would often travel down the memory lane and recall how they were the first few persons who decided to come to the newly-established residential colony called Hayatabad in the late 1970s.

I remember having visited the late television producer Farrukh Seer who in those days purchased a plot of land and constructed a modest house near the Lalazar Market. He told me that when the sun sank behind the mountains of Khyber Agency, he felt a little scared because Phase I at that time was sparsely populated and the next door neighbour lived at least a kilometre away.

In view of the public fears, the army jawans used to take a round of the place in their armed personnel carriers. This gesture used to send out the right kind of message to the anti-social elements who stayed at a safe distance from the APCs. Then our neighbour to the north-west had a change of government.

The Khalq and Parcham factions of the Communist Party of Afghanistan toppled the government and brought what Moscow thought was a pre-mature revolution. There was a direct confrontation between those who supported the Saur Revolution and those who opposed the change. APCs became a common sight.

From Kabul came the refugees and the Kalashnikov guns. The violence had its impact on Pakistan especially the NWFP. In many ways, the present military operation in South Waziristan is part of the fallout of Afghan civil war. The restaurant in Hayatabad is the latest target of the terrorists.

After the incident of Friday, everyone intending to tie the nuptial knot will think twice before choosing this place to host a dinner. Capital City Police has for the last many days been mounting a crackdown on the Afghan nationals who have been reluctant to go home. Police have arrested more than 100 Afghans some of whom have been acting as ‘khateebs’ and ‘pesh imams’ (mosque heads) in various city localities.

When it comes to gaining the knowledge of religion, the question of nationality assumes a secondary position. Still the residents of Peshawar privately say that they have played host to more than 2.5 million Afghan refugees from 1979 to 2009 and it is just about time that the guests decide to go home.

Some of the Afghans are indeed the best that humanity has ever produced. However, only the other day police raided the Shamshatoo refugee camp and discovered subversive material that could destroy entire city of Peshawar. The international community itself has been a little wary of the Afghan diaspora.

While the residents of Peshawar played host to their Afghan brethren, the tribal belt silently became a safe haven for the militants and extremists. Baitullah Mehsud, Hakeemullah Mehsud, Qari Hussain Mehsud, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Maulvi Nazeer have become familiar names for sensitive agencies.

The military operation that started on October 17 has been focusing on Kotkai near Wana in South Waziristan, the native town of Baitullah and Hakeemullah. The internally displaced persons from South Waziristan have moved variously to Peshawar, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and even to Karachi.

The touch of winter is in the air and the new IDPs may feel difficulties. The government is doing whatever it can to look after the displaced families. Fearing reaction from the activists of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, the educational institutions all over the country were closed down on October 21. An announcement by the Inter-Service Public Relations says that schools run under the management of the armed forces are reopening from today (Monday).

However, the NWFP government has said educational institutions will stay closed for another week and may reopen on November 2. The parents feel highly perturbed over the fact that they have been paying heavy fees for their children and the suspension of studies right in the middle of the academic session may mean a loss in the context of teaching-learning process.

The parents somehow feel that the government has not been serious in realising its duties towards the students and their future. Even in peace time our schools remain closed for about half of the year. If the remaining six months are wasted in the name of militancy, there are chances that a precious year of the students may be lost.

The provincial government has constituted a special committee comprising representatives of the heads of schools and the government officials. The committee will evolve a common strategy to combat terrorism and submit a report to the government. The parents have their own reservations about the move. They somehow fear that like other committees formed in the past, this new committee may also disappear in the haze before submitting any report and the schools may continue to stay closed.