‘100 terrorists killed’ – Border crossing shut down

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SEHWAN SHARIF, Pakistan, Feb 18, (Agencies): Pakistani security forces killed dozens of suspected militants on Friday, a day after Islamic State claimed a suicide bombing that killed more than 80 worshippers at a Sufishrine, the biggest in a spate of attacks this week across the country. The bombing at the famed Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in southern Sindh province was Pakistan’s deadliest attack for two years, killing at least 83 people and highlighting the threat of militant groups such as the Pakistani Taleban and Islamic State. The security response was swift. “Over 100 terrorists have been killed since last night and sizeable apprehensions also made,” the military said in an operations update on Friday evening. “Terrorists will be targeted ruthlessly, indiscriminately, anywhere and everywhere. No let up,” an armed forces spokesman added in a tweet. With authorities facing angry criticism for failing to tighten security before the shrine bomber struck, analysts warned that the wave of violence pointed to a major escalation in Islamist militants’ attempts to destabilise the region. “This is a virtual declaration of war against the state of Pakistan,” said Imtiaz Gul, head of the independent Centre for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad. With pressure growing for action, Pakistan demanded that neighbouring Afghanistan hand over 76 “terrorists” it said were sheltering over the border. The bombings over five days have hit all four of Pakistan’s provinces and two major cities, shaking a nascent sense that the worst of the country’s militant violence may be in the past.

Insurgent
A series of military operations against insurgent groups operating in Pakistan had encouraged hopes that their leaders were scattered. “But this has led to a degree of complacency within our civil-military leadership that perhaps they have completely destroyed these elements, or broken their back,” Gul said. If so, that impression has been shattered in recent days. At Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, the white marble fl oor was still stained with blood on Friday, and a pile of shoes and slippers was heaped in the courtyard, many of them belonging to the dead. Outside, protesters shouted slogans at police, who they said had failed to protect the shrine. “I wish I could have been here and died in the blast last night,” a devastated Ali Hussain told Reuters, sitting on the fl oor of the shrine. Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities shut down a second key border crossing into Afghanistan, halting trade supplies to the neighboring landlocked country and increasing tension between the two nations in the wake of a bloody suicide bombing at a beloved shrine in Pakistan, officials said Saturday. The border closure at Chaman in Pakistan’s southwest Baluchistan province came after an attack on a Sufishrine in southern Pakistan on Thursday left 88 worshippers dead. The move was seen as an effort to pressure Kabul to act against militants who Pakistan says have sanctuaries in Afghanistan.

Claimed
The attack at Lal Shahbaz Qalander shrine in Sehwan was claimed by the Islamic State group. A brutal attack on a beloved Sufishrine that killed 88 people raised fears that the Islamic State group has become emboldened in Pakistan, aided by an army of homegrown militants benefiting from hideouts in neighboring Afghanistan, analysts and officials said Friday. Zahid Hussain, an expert on militants in the region, said a toxic mix of violent Sunni militant groups, many belonging to banned groups that are fl ourishing under new names, have wrapped themselves in the banner of the Islamic State group. “The Islamic State (group) might not have a strong organizational structure in Pakistan but we have thousands of members of banned groups sympathetic to the (their) ideology,” Hussain said in an interview. “They subscribe to the Islamic State (group) world view.” Thursday’s terror attack — Pakistan’s deadliest in years — stunned the nation and raised questions about the authorities’ ability to rein in militant groups despite several military offensives targeting militant hideouts. It also threatened to drive a deeper wedge between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad quickly lashed out at Kabul, saying the bombing was masterminded in militant sanctuaries across the border in Afghanistan, whose own security forces have been assaulted by Islamic State fighters. Overnight Thursday, Afghan authorities said 17 Afghan soldiers were killed by IS insurgents.

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