Islamabad, July 8 : In the aftermath of the recent bomb blasts, one in Islamabad killing 20 followed by serial blasts in Karachi yesterday claiming one life, it seems that the suicide-bombers have decided to spare all the elements opposed to the PPP and zero in on its supporters. Hence, it was high time for PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to bite the bullet and do the right thing till it is time for Al Qaeda to go, said an editorial in the Daily Times.

Warning that more such attacks might be forthcoming in the days to come, it said that the question was: Is the PPP government willing to fight or does it want to let the Al Qaeda-Taliban network win? It has sent the Army into the Tribal Areas and must now stand firm even if that means political isolation and bad footage from the TV channels who are brave only as long as they don’t ruffle the feathers of the terrorists, advised the paper’s editorial.

It added that the Islamabad suicide bombing on Sunday was expected after the talks with the Taliban broke down and the government decided to let the army go into the Khyber Agency. A number of suicide-bombers deployed in the build-up of the attack were arrested in Punjab in general and in Rawalpindi in particular. An Al Qaeda videocassette marked the first anniversary of the destruction of Lal Masjid in which revenge was sworn.

Commenting on the recent deployment of troops in Peshawar and Khyber Agency, the paper said the PPP-led government failed once again to secure the venue against suicide-bombing, deploying 3000 policemen as a show of force but failing to secure one margin of the venue where the policemen were gathered.

It said that the post-February 2008 political order was complicit in this symbolism because it allowed a conference of revenge-seekers to be held at the spot where the vigilantes shepherded by the Ghazi Brothers had begun challenging the writ of the state in the state’s capital. (ANI)