Pakistani politicians sacrifice lives in war against militants

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PESHAWAR -- Seven people, including a police officer and two constables, were killed and 25 others were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up July 26 near the home of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain.

Two of the injured were relatives of the information minister.

Gunmen killed Mian Iftikhar’s only son, Mian Rashid Hussain, July 24, in his hometown of Pabbi, 25km east of Peshawar.

The suicide bomber blew himself up when intercepted by a police officer as he approached hundreds of politicians and other mourners attending Mian Rashid's funeral.

On the front lines in the fight against militants across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the nationalist Awami National Party (ANP) has suffered significant losses.

“We have lost 481 leaders and senior activists during the last four years or so. The sacrifice has no match in the country and even the region,” Naseer Khan, a district ANP leader, told Central Asia Online.

The murder of the only son of Mian Iftikhar, the information minister and one of the country's opponents of the militancy, was only the latest shock.

Mian Iftikhar and Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour are known for reaching terrorist crime scenes ahead of other officials to console the victims and reiterate their resolve to defeat the militants.

While the militants usually wait to claim responsibility for an attack, a deputy spokesman for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who identified himself as Ihsanullah phoned media organisations the next day to claim responsibility for Mian Rashid’s assassination.

The TTP leadership tasked six men to carry out the operation, all of whom returned to their basecamps, he said.

“We are still working on the case but cannot share … updates due to the sensitive nature of the incident,” District Police Officer Nowshera Nisar Khan Tanoli told Central Asia Online.

The information minister is among key government officials whose families, according to intelligence reports, are on terrorist hit lists.

Some politicians have adopted security measures to protect their families.

“We are proud of our martyrs who laid down their lives for the country. Such acts cannot deter us from defeating terrorists,” Mian Iftikhar told Central Asia Online, pausing every few minutes to wipe away tears.

Mian Iftikhar himself survived a 2008 suicide attack at the entrance to the Qayyum Sports Complex as he and Bashir Ahmad returned from the closing ceremonies of the Inter-Provincial Games.

At least four people were killed and several were wounded in the attack.

Bashir Ahmad is atop one of the Taliban’s hit lists.

“I survived two suicide attacks, one outside Qayyum Stadium and another in Namakmandi.

My house was bombarded with rockets, while I, along with elder brother and Federal Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, escaped an attack outside Lady Reading Hospital,” he said.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani praised the courage of Mian Iftikhar and the ANP’s sacrifices.

“How bravely Mian Iftikhar faced the tragedy will be written in history,” said Ghani.

Ghulam Ahmad termed the killing of innocent youth an inhuman act.

Members of almost all political parties are on terrorist death lists, and all parties have suffered losses.

“You cannot (discount) the sacrifices of the Pakistan People’s Party.

We have sacrificed our lifetime chairperson and a former two-time prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, in this war,” Dr Shaukat Ali, a senior PPP activist, told Central Asia Online.

Former President General Pervez Musharraf and leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid, including former prime minister Shaukat Aziz and provincial chief Ameer Muqam, survived suicide attacks.

Suicide bombers also struck near the residence of former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief minister Dost Mohammad Khosa and attempted to assassinate PML-N Member of the National Assembly Rashid Niwani, killing several innocent people.

“We lost 24 party workers and leaders in a single suicide bombing in Qissa Khwani soon after a rally against power breakdowns in the country.

Those who sustained injuries in the explosion included two former lawmakers of the party, Sabir Awan and Shabbir Ahmad Khan,” said Mohammad Iqbal, spokesman of Jamaat-e-Islami.

Members of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz and another religious party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal, also have come under attack.

At the funeral of Mian Rashid, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti and several ministers broke into tears while consoling their colleague.

But politicians in Pakhtunkhwa remain committed to fighting terrorism.

“The beasts have started killing our children, but we will fight them until the last. Those who are involved in these acts will be punished duly,” Hoti said.