Pakistan is in the grip of a terror wave. A suicide bomber entered the Sufi shrine dedicated to Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, a Sufi saint. The Sufi's form part of the Shia sect of Islam. ISIS, which is a Sunni outfit, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack took place in a remote area 130 km from the main city of Hyderabad. The attacker entered the shrine at a time when hundreds of devotees were inside the shrine and were singing and dancing as per Sufi tradition.
The suicide bomber entered the shrine from the Red gate and first threw a hand grenade which did not explode and then blew himself up.
The intensity of the blast killed over 100 and more than 250 have been injured. Due to the remoteness of the area, rescue operations have been greatly hampered. This blast shows that ISIS is getting entrenched in Pakistan and is bent on ushering a regime that believes in a pristine form of Sharia, where minorities have no place.
Terror attacks
The last week has been a terrible eye-opener for Pakistan. Two days back the terrorists struck in the city of Lahore, the capital of Punjab, and 14 were killed. A bomb was diffused at Quetta but two bomb experts were killed. These attacks have come after a cabinet decision to try and wipe out all terror groups inside Pakistan. It just shows that the roots of terrorism run deep in the country.
Pakistan policy
Pakistan itself has been nurturing terror groups. Its policy of good and bad terrorist groups has failed. They have been supporting terror groups of the Haqqani faction of the Taliban in Afghanistan. This group has killed many American soldiers also. ISIS is also sending terrorists inside the Kashmir valley to fight Indian troops, and the country served as a safe haven for Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar.
Donald's options
Trump has vowed to crush ISIS and other Muslim extremists. He would perhaps be aware after the Yemen raid that beating ISIS is not going to be easy, and the US will need help. This is where the help of Russia could be decisive in the fight against ISIS.
