BLOG: Cowardly attacks by terrorists part of a plan?

After every terrorist attack in Pakistan the same rhetoric is repeated again and again, that the cowardly attacks against ‘soft targets’ are being carried out by terrorists, whose backs have been broken by the ongoing military operations in the country.

Readily we lap up the rhetoric and repeat it again and again, like a prayer on rosary beads; towards the end of the day even those who normally question the official argument end up becoming believers.

There is no doubt that the terrorists are cowards responsible for the deaths of many innocents, men, women and children.

There is also no doubt that our forces are fighting them valiantly in the efforts to secure our tomorrows.

But are they really attacking soft targets because they know they are nearing their end? Are the attacks on the legal fraternity, only because they are soft targets? Attacks on lawyers in Pakistan over the last nine years have claimed over 180 lives, 86 of those have died in 2016 alone.

I hope I am wrong, I want to believe the attack that wiped out an entire generation of senior legal practitioners in Quetta only took place because the hospital was a soft target. I want to believe that the courthouse in Mardan was also targeted only because it was a soft target.

But how many more lawyers will have to die before we start considering these recent attacks on the legal fraternity might have a more sinister reason.

Could it be possible that terrorists are attacking our legal fraternity because they have openly challenged our laws to be un-Islamic? Could it be possible that these attacks are not being conducted out of frustration but rather as part of a thought out plan to scuttle the prevailing legal system in the country?

The terrorists responsible for the bloodshed in my country come in various forms, shapes and sizes, with beards and without, comprising locals and foreigners. But they all share one common demand; the enforcement of their brand of Islamic law.

In 2009 the National Assembly of Pakistan approved the Nizam-e-Adl, which gave the Taliban the right to enforce their brand of Sharia in Swat. The world saw this as Pakistan abdicating to the terrorists.

The Taliban control over the Islamic courts in Swat never realized, nor did negotiations with terrorists bear any fruit.

The ongoing military operation in the country has broken the backs of the terrorists and they now exist only in pockets and carry out attacks against 'soft targets'. That is our stated position – but can we for a moment ask the question and talk about, why the recent attacks are targeting our legal fraternity. Are they being targeted only because they are easy prey, or could the reason be one we have not focused on as yet?