More than 103 civilians, among them women and children, were slaughtered near Parachinar in northwest Pakistan on Thursday November 21.
Hundreds of people were on their way to Peshawar.
A convoy of more than 100 vehicles with police and Frontier Constabulary escort was attacked near Mandori Charkhel area.
Survivors of the massacre said the security forces stood aside when the firing started and did not engage the attackers.
This is borne out by the fact that not one attacker was injured much less killed.
Why the police and FC personnel who are fully armed, did not engage the attackers?
Instead of answering this question, the army-installed illegal regime tried to muddy the waters by claiming that the attack may be related to a land dispute in the area.
If so, why kill innocent women and children?
Reports from hospital sources say that at least 17 women and 11 children were among those murdered in cold blood.
All victims belonged to the Shia community.
While sectarian tensions are common in this area, this appeared to be a well-coordinated attack and had a specific purpose.
The jailed leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaaf (PTI), Imran Khan has called for a mass rally in Islamabad on November 24.
The regime and its real masters—the army—want to prevent the rally from taking place.
While roads in Islamabad have been blocked with containers, stoking sectarian tensions is another way of disrupting the planned rally.
After every such outrage, the regime and army chief issue loud statements vowing to wipe out the terrorists.
The hapless people of Pakistan have heard such statements for decades.
Terrorism keeps rising.
Most people are convinced that the army itself supports the terrorists and use them for their own nefarious agenda.
Police in Laki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KPK) have openly accused the army of protecting terrorists.
Last September, the police went on strike demanding the withdrawal of army personnel, some 60,000 strong, from their area.
They vowed to eliminate the terrorists in three months.
One police officer told a vlogger that every time they capture a terrorist, some senior army officer calls to demand his release.
This clearly indicates the nexus between the army and the terrorist network.
The army uses these terrorists to terrorize civilians and at the same time justify the huge defence budget.
Pakistan’s problems will not be solved until the real terrorists—the men in khaki—are sent back to the barracks rather than spreading their tentacles in every facet of life in Pakistan.
Until then, many more innocent lives will be lost.
Nor would anyone be held to account.
After all, the senior army officer (a brigadier) incharge of security at the time of the December 16, 2014 terrorist attack on Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar was not punished.
More than 140 school children were slaughtered.
The brigadier was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.
When such dereliction of duty is rewarded, it clearly indicates that there is something seriously wrong with the army.
It is not there to protect the country or its people; it is actually the enemy of the people.
The slaughter of innocents near Parachinar is one more proof of the army’s culpability, regardless of the tall claims it makes.