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Pakistan: Civil society condemns terrorists attack on Karachi Airport

9 June 2014

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PRESS RELEASE

Civil society condemns terrorists attack on Karachi Airport

KARACHI, June 09, 2014: The Pakistan Peace Coalition [PPC], Pakistan Civil Society Forum Sindh Chapter and Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research [PILER] have vehemently condemned the terrorists attack at the Karachi Airport Sunday night, which continued till Monday afternoon, resulting in deaths of 18 personnel of law enforcement agencies including Airport Security Force, Rangers and Police, as well as killing of 10 terrorists.
In a joint statement, the civil society organizations regretted the loss of lives of personnel deployed at the Airport who fell victim to the terrorists’ offence against the biggest airport of the country.

“The matter raises serious questions over the state of security and intelligence that covers highly sensitive establishments such as the Karachi Airport, which is used by the public most frequently. Last night terrorists proved that they can hold the state of Pakistan hostage anytime they want.â€
The statement expressed concern that the mid-night attack signals deep infiltration of militants in the city, who had access to opportunities to plan such a high level assault. “This has serious repercussions for the city of Karachi that houses 20 million people, from all over Pakistan. They are already a victim of acute lawlessness, and threatened by political, ethnic and sectarian violence. Their daily lives are already crippled by the continuous state of political instability in the mega city. This attack adds to their insecurity manifolds.â€

The statement said that the citizens of Karachi would be within their right to raise questions over the effectiveness of the operation, launched last year to target criminals and address growing violence in the city. “The operation has been running for months and yet the terrorists were able to carry out an attack at the most guarded and sensitive public installation.â€

The PPC, PCSF and PILER urged that the core causes of militancy and terrorism be addressed. The state’s continuous support to the forces espousing violence, its dual policy on the Taliban and its unwillingness to commit itself to the welfare and development of its citizens, opting to pursue its own narrow interests, is at the root of the crisis that the people of this country repeatedly have to face. “Defence and security claim one of the highest shares of resources in the annual budget of the country. Yet, Pakistani citizens, especially those in Karachi, remain at the mercy of terrorists.â€