Swat suicide strike

Unfortunate indeed was the Monday's suicide car bomb explosion in Swat that initially killed 10 and injured about 50 persons. The suicide bomber struck at a security check-post in Sangota near Mingora, the headquarters of the violence-hit Swat. Due to curfew imposed on Mingora, a number of vehicles had lined up on the check-post when the blast occurred. Hardly had the early-December morning chill lifted, when the bomber brought his car towards the check-post and rammed it into another vehicle. Immediately after the explosion, the security forces opened fire in which some by-standers were killed. Hours after the blast, the spokesman of local Taliban militants Haji Muslim Khan accepted responsibility for the suicide attack which, he said, claimed the lives of some 20 security men. Speaking to the BBC correspondent, the in charge of Saidu Teaching Hospital, Lal Noor Afridi, confirmed that the suicide attack had killed 10 and injured 49 persons out of which some had been allowed to go home after initial dressing and first aid but most of them were admitted to the hospital for sustaining grievous injuries. In a state of unannounced curfew, the security agencies mounted a search operation in Mingora and the surrounding areas.

Death, destruction and violence have become matters of routine in Swat and a car bomb explosion does not particularly appear to bother anyone on either side of the political divide. With pouches of bullets tied to their waists, gun- wielding security men in their khakis subject the local residents to body searches. On the other hand, the amazed family elders returning to their demolished homes in Kabal say it on television cameras that marauders have walked away with all their belongings including even the toys for children. Prolonged confrontation in Swat is not in the interest of anyone and measures need to be adopted to bring it to an early end.