Disarray

The Lahore attack aftermath shows all the signs of a government in total disarray. Two days have passed and yet scant little is known about the attack that took place. It just goes to show the dismal state of affairs. The officials have not stopped being casual about these attacks which are now occurring on a more routine basis. It almost seems like they are getting used to the whole idea.

We still do not know how many militants stormed the Manawan academy, how many were killed, whether they took police recruits hostage, or whether they wore police uniforms.

A local television channel reported a construction worker present near the academy just before the attack told the channel he saw five men wearing backpacks disembark from a white pickup truck in front of the academy's main gate and scale its walls "commando-style"There is confusion about how many attackers were involved, how many were killed and did anyone of them manage to escape. So, while four or five attackers came in from the front, did others scale the back wall and join up with their comrades in the central building area where the main drama unfolded?

Officials from the head of the interior ministry and the army spokesman to the provincial police chief failed to clear this up. They did not even agree on how many attackers had been killed. While interior ministry official Rehman Malik said that three attackers "blew themselves up", an army official at the scene told newsmen that "four attackers have been killed". This is lackluster and pathetic!

Did the fourth attacker also blow himself up, or was he shot? If this is the case than where is the body? The number of injured varies as well. All of this give credence to the conspiracy theories doing the rounds. One of the more popular theories out there is that this apparent nonchalance is largely due to the continued interest of some sections in its powerful defence establishment to keep the militants afloat. I am myself is starting to believe some of those theories.