Pakistan is witnessing a new upsurge in terrorism, with several incidents of target killings of Sikh and Shia minorities reported in the Peshawar region in recent years.
In the recent act of brutality, two Sikh shopkeepers were shot dead by unidentified assailants last Sunday morning in the Bazaar in Peshawar.
Peshawar’s Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ijaz Khan made a statement following the attack, “We are investigating from different angles and it is confirmed that it’s an act of terrorism.”
However, as per some experts, Pakistan’s intelligence community has failed to expand their network to the streets and village levels. There has been no single terror case in recent years, which had been balanced by Intelligence agencies before its occurrence. Most of the time, police investigate the incidents to arrest the culprits after the commencement of the crime.
Moreover, the past governments in Pakistan have also abandoned the execution of the National Action Plan (NAP), which was meant to be put in place to carry out a crackdown on terrorism.
The grip of terror in Pakistan is tightening, and the onus is on the Political leadership to ensure full implementation of the NAP. They must work for enduring peace and stability in the country, which still seems to be a far-away prospect.
CCPO Khan, following the targeted killing of two Sikh traders, said that the attack was “an attack of terrorism.”
According to Peshawar’s CCPO, the shooters killed one of the shop’s victims, while the other one was shot outside his office. He further said that the assailants were on a motorbike and used the AK-47 rifle.
As per the CCPO, the gunmen managed to escape from the crime scene, as the area was located near the troubled Bara area of Khyber tribal district.
