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WEEKLY
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| Charsadda blast |
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Saturday, October 04, 2008
The suicide bombing at the guest house of ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan in Charsadda represents a continuation in the kind of attacks seen earlier. During the election campaign early this year, the ANP had faced at least two major bombings at rallies. The purpose appears to be to target a liberal party, which in its native NWFP has dared to speak out against extremism and offer a link back to a past when the province, under the leadership of men such as Asfandyar's grandfather, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, was known for its progressive politics, its tolerance and its role in the sub-continental struggle for independence. It will of course take a long time to re-build such values in a region torn apart by violence, but by encouraging the role of women in politics, by suggesting that local people be used to battle terrorists and by proposing development as a means to overcome orthodoxy, the ANP suggests a way forward.
The suicide bomber, who was mercifully stopped at the gates by security guards at Wali Bagh, the family home, claimed four lives. The toll might have been much higher had he made his way through the security cordons. As with so many such bombings, those he killed were the poor – the guards and other personnel employed to safeguard the lives of the influential. Too many such hapless citizens have now perished. There is every possibility that more yet may die. The battle against extremism, despite the intensified fighting in the northern areas and the evidence of greater resolve by the government, has yet to be won. The blast at Charsadda proves once more that terrorists live on everywhere in our midst. It will take time and still greater effort to drive them out.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
