Fear psychosis grips Islamabad residents following latest suicide blast
10 Oct 2008, 1348 Hrs

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Islamabad, Oct 10 Thursday's bomb attack inside the Police Lines has highlighted yet again that no one is safe in these troubled times, be it the law enforcers themselves or the citizens -- the perpetrators of such heinous crime giving out a clear message that they could strike as and when they pleased.

Fortunately, there were no immediate reports of deaths in this attempt by the terrorists, although a few policemen were injured. The attack, coming almost 20 days after the bloody strike on the Marriott Hotel, has however greatly upset the people, the Daily Times reported.

Barely had they recovered from the horrors of the assault on the hotel that 'officially' killed 53 people and injured hundreds others, the latest incident despite enhanced security has come as another shocker.

"This is all devastating - I just don't want to lose my country in this manner," said Attiya Imdad, a university teacher.

She thinks that the government, the civil society and intelligentsia needed to come to terms with the situation and inform the people about what's really going on.

Attiya said that it was a pity that the government had been unable to pull the country out of this mess. "Are we absolutely incapable of tackling this problem," she wondered.

Ever since the military operation against Lal Masjid militants last year, Islamabad has continued to bleed at regular intervals with a string of suicide attacks but none as deadly as the September 20 strike on the town's landmark hotel.

"What more evidence do we need to realise that we are facing an insurgency," said Advocate Wasim Elahi, pointing out that the primary aim of the insurgents was to destabilise the structure of the state.

He called for taking on the insurgents by the scruff of their neck and doing so from a united front.

Islamabad residents have been living in a constant state of fear and have had little respite with the security situation turning from bad to worse. The scene is such that people now even avoid going to markets and other crowded places.

Reportedly 520 families of foreign nationals based in the Capital left the town following the blast outside Marriott while staff at embassies has been drastically cut down. No wonder the sense of fear is real. (ANI)