Pakistan has no shortage of institutions dealing with terrorism. The challenge is how effectively their efforts are connected, and whether investigations examine the entire chain of events rather than isolated aspects of an attack. The judicial commission constituted to investigate the July 6 terrorist attack on the Mangi Dam pumping station in Ziarat was initially expected to examine the attack and the deaths of police personnel. Its scope, however, has since widened to include questions about digital misinformation, delays in compensation to victims’ families, and the registration and regulation of religious seminaries. Each of these issues may deserve attention, but bringing them under one inquiry risks producing a collection of separate concerns rather than a coherent explanation of what happened and why.

The Mangi attack itself illustrates why such a reconstruction is necessary. Initial reports on July 7 said that nine policemen, including two station house officers, had been killed and that the whereabouts of five others were unknown. The report said additional personnel had been dispatched and an operation to recover the missing policemen was under way.

Later reports provided a different and much more detailed account. According to Balochistan Police, reinforcements had been sent towards the post, but when they moved closer they came under fire and were initially unable to advance. After the post ran out of ammunition, the remaining personnel attempted to withdraw in two groups. One group reached safety, while another group of 18 policemen encountered the attackers and was taken hostage. Those 18 were subsequently killed, and their bodies were found in the mountainous Zarghoon Gar area.

This sequence raises questions that go beyond the initial attack. The first report described the engagement as lasting for hours. If the fighting continued for that length of time, the inquiry needs to establish when the attack was reported to the relevant command authorities, when reinforcement was requested and ordered, how long it took to arrive, and what prevented it from reaching the post before the situation deteriorated. The later police account cites extremely difficult terrain, limited observation, distant fire and possible ambush sites as factors that slowed the movement of reinforcements. These constraints clearly mattered, but they do not by themselves explain the delay: the attackers were operating in the same difficult terrain. The inquiry........

© The Friday Times