Pakistan is one country where act of terrorism takes place everyday. It reminds us of those times when Beirut was facing similar situation and within days this bustling city of Middle East ended into shadows of darkness. It seems that cities like Karachi and Lahore are also going through similar metamorphosis. These cities carry a history of waking up in the evening and late night social activities. Today roads of these cities wear a cloak of deserted silence past 10 pm. Let aside night time, during day also, people think hundred times before visiting crowded places. This reflex is called terrorized behaviour; effect of terrorism. Question arises as to who is responsible for terrorizing inhabitants of this country? Political wrestlers are busy shifting onus of these heinous acts to their opponents. Opposition blames government and government blames previous government.
In fact the blame should be apportioned on two main segments of our society. One is law enforcing agencies and other is media. Terrorist wants to spread their message across targeted audience and this job is very objectively done by our media and police, using all audiovisual aids.
In the race to report an incident before their competitor TV channels are airing extra ordinary coverage of each incident. As soon as an incident of such nature takes place video footages are repeated again and again to make sure that horrifying scenes are drilled in the minds of audience. Such coverage comprises of scenes which are not suitable for general public viewing, especially children. Effects of these toiling efforts of journalist is evident in our daily life. Once, my 9 year old mentioned to me that he is scared when I travel. I inquired as to what bothers him; his apprehension was of bomb. Where did he get this idea from, nowhere but through our ruthlessly competing TV channels.
Our brave and chivalrous armed forces are shedding their blood to rescue this nation which has been held hostage by our enemies. Silently these soldiers are sacrificing their lives so that their countrymen can live in peace and tranquility. On the other hand our law enforcing agencies are aiding spread of terror among citizens. Barricaded roads with lethargic police constables standing next to it further reduce confidence of citizens. Patrolling vehicles, with its lights and siren operating unnecessarily, petrifies residents and forewarn miscreants. Despite all these measures terrorists strike again and again. And society gets terrorized and traumatized by watching its effects on television screens; thus objective of a terrorist is achieved.
Efficiency and effectiveness of any process is improved by reviewing steps taken in the light of results achieved. It is obvious, beyond any doubt, that measures taken by LEAs are ineffective and are becoming source of further frightening for common man. It is leaving a long lasting impression of fear and trauma in the minds of innocent citizens and our future generation. It is therefore imperative for LEAs to revisit their security plans and adopt more sophisticated equipment which does not create botherations for commuters and yet able to identify vehicles or individuals carrying weapons or explosives. LEAs need to engage professionals of high IQ levels who can think ahead of criminals, devise ingenious methods to anticipate any unwanted activity and effectively prevent such occurrences. Mare adding languid fillers only increases cost and burden on public exchequer.
Security remains paramount on all the airports of the world but the way it is enforced in Pakistan is ridiculous. Instead of placing competent security personnel Pakistan Airport Security Force is increasing the manpower and putting check posts at every 100 meters. A passenger goes through 8 security check points before boarding aircraft. First before going through vehicle underbelly camera scan where an ASF staff asks where the passenger is going. Just after the camera another set of ASF staff opens the door of the car and peeps in, don’t know what they see. Then at the entrance of departure lounge ticket is checked. Just after entrance baggage is passed through scanner and body search is conducted. The passenger then proceeds to ticket counter and get boarding pass and proceeds to lounge. Before entering lounge area another baggage scan takes place along with body search. This process ends with a security tag stamped. Just before boarding this security tag is rechecked. This whole process shows that ASF itself is not confident about its staff sincerity. In this shaky confidence commuters are the sufferers for inefficiency of the staff. Those who travel internationally will tend to agree that nowhere in the world so many security checks are done. One luggage scan is done at the entrance and if metal detector beeps then a body search with hand held scanner is done. Next security check is just before boarding where handheld luggage is scanned through machine and body scan is performed with metal detector gates. Whereas, in Pakistan these security personnel conduct body search by touching bodies of the passengers, sometimes including their private parts. ASF should consider their methods of search and instead of bothering passengers, consider improving efficiency of their department.
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