Horrific Terrorist Attack on Kohat Police Lines Mosque Is a Most Serious Act; Policies Making Pashtunkhwa a War Zone Unacceptable — Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party
Quetta (Daily Qudrat): The Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party (PNAP) has strongly condemned the horrific terrorist attack that took place during Friday prayers at a mosque near Kohat Police Lines, and expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious human lives and the injuring of dozens of people. The party expressed heartfelt condolences to the families of the martyrs, wished a speedy recovery to the injured, and expressed complete solidarity with the affected families. According to initial reports, 16 people, including police personnel, were killed in the attack, while more than 50 were injured.
The Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party said that targeting worshippers during prayer is extremely serious terrorism, but the Kohat tragedy is not an isolated incident. For the past several months, the people of Khyber Pashtunkhwa and Southern Pashtunkhwa have been continuously facing terrorism, target killings, abductions, bombings, armed attacks, and fear and panic, while no consistent and effective political and administrative strategy is visible on the part of the rulers.
The party said that the continuous incidents in Southern Pashtunkhwa, especially in Ziarat, Harnai, Orak, Pishin, Saranan, Killa Abdullah, Quetta, Killa Saifullah, and other areas, have made it clear that the unrest is no longer a problem of any single district or area, but the entire region is engulfed in a serious security crisis. Whether it is the martyrdom of police personnel and the abduction of officials in an attack on a police checkpoint in the Mangi area of Ziarat, or the attack on a customs installation at the Ziarat Cross in Pishin, operations against armed elements around Saranan, or security incidents in various areas of Killa Abdullah and Quetta — all these incidents have created a severe sense of insecurity among the people.
The party said that the tragic incident of Harnai Orak has not yet faded from people’s minds, where incidents such as the killing of citizens, injuries, and abductions left the entire area in fear. After such incidents, if the rulers remain limited to formal condemnatory statements and do not assess the root causes at the political, administrative, and constitutional levels, then how can the end of unrest be expected?
The Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party made it clear that considering only the use of force, temporary operations, and security blockades as a permanent policy is not a complete solution to ending terrorism. The rulers must seriously reconsider their policies, as a result of which the people of Pashtunkhwa have been facing war, terrorism, military operations, displacement, economic destruction, and constant fear for decades. It is the responsibility of the state and government to provide protection to the people, but unfortunately, even today the people of Pashtunkhwa do not consider themselves safe in their homes, markets, highways, mosques, government installations, and even at funerals.
The Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party said that the foremost responsibility of the Khyber Pashtunkhwa government is the protection of the lives and property of its citizens, police, and government officials. Despite continuous attacks in various districts of the province, if the government’s focus remains centered on political confrontation and protest activities instead of protecting the people, it will only add to public hardships. The party also warned the federal government that making Pashtunkhwa a battlefield in the war against terrorism and forcing its people to continuously carry coffins is by no means acceptable.
The party said that if the governments are serious about ending terrorism, they must conduct a transparent review of their past and present policies, take all stakeholders into confidence, and formulate a comprehensive policy that addresses not only terrorism but also its political, social, economic, and administrative causes. The people of Southern Pashtunkhwa have made countless sacrifices against terrorism. Police, Levies, security personnel, political workers, students, scholars, traders, laborers, and common citizens have all been affected by this unrest. Instead of further experiments, promises, and symbolic measures, the people want practical peace, constitutional governance, the rule of law, and a guarantee of the protection of their lives and property.
The Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party demanded that transparent and impartial investigations be conducted into all recent terrorism incidents, including the Kohat Police Lines attack, that terrorists and their facilitators be punished according to the law, that immediate financial and medical assistance be provided to the families of the martyrs and the injured, and that an effective peace policy be formulated by taking public representatives, political parties, and local elders into confidence in the affected areas of Southern Pashtunkhwa.
The party said that the people of Pashtunkhwa cannot be abandoned to more bodies, abductions, explosions, and fear. Peace is not a favor from any political party or government, but a fundamental right of the people. The federal and provincial governments should fulfill their constitutional responsibility, provide protection to the people, and end the policies that have kept Pashtunkhwa a field of continuous unrest and terrorism. The Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party, expressing complete solidarity with the families of the martyrs, the injured, and all affected families of the Kohat tragedy, said that without an effective, transparent, consistent, and people-friendly policy against terrorism, sustainable peace cannot be established in Pashtunkhwa.
