Marriott Blast
By Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
Westriodge, Rawalpindi
No amount of condemnation of the Marriott blast killing around 60 and injuring more than 250 will be enough. It was indeed the most horrific bomb blast in the history of the country. A lot is being said against the security and law and order agencies for lowering their guard and becoming lax and complacent after the completion of the Presidential address to the joint session of the Parliament.
People are also at a loss to understand as to how a six-wheeler dumper truck, loaded with a ton of the most lethal explosives, manage its way to the most secure Red Zone area of the capital.
However, to my mind there is yet another aspect of the mystery which needs careful attention of us all. The suicide driver of the dumper truck is said to have shouted at the security men of the hotel and other standing by to get away as an explosion was to occur after three minutes. This was something unexpected of a person about to commit suicide.
Why did he have any consideration for others at such a crucial time of his life? The obvious answer is that he wanted only the inmates of the hotel to perish and not the security personnel and others around. I think he must have been brainwashed that only the foreigners and the drinking, dancing and swimming infidels were in the hotel that he had to kill. So, he cautioned the Muslim security men and others outside the hotel to get away before the explosion took place.
If we recollect, one of three suicide bombers of the POF Wah, who was taken alive by police, had also stated that they had been told that there were foreigners working in the Wah factories producing bullets and weapons that killed them (Taliban). However when he saw people with beards and Muslim attire coming out of the gates of the factory, he changed his mind to kill them and ran away.
I suggest our anti-terrorist agencies take note of such a ‘foreign/infidel-based’ strategy of the extremist elements in brainwashing naïve individuals and simpletons. Besides taking effective measures to counter the strategy, they must adopt foolproof measures for the protection of targets that are likely to be mistaken for non-Muslim, foreign, or American set-ups or organizations.
