Marked
Well known journalist, TV talk show host, and executive editor of Geo TV, Hamid Mir narrowly escaped death when an explosive device attached under his car, was defused by the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) in Islamabad on Monday. The canvas bag, holding what police describe as an expertly made and fitted bomb – containing half-a-kilogramme of explosive powder, was spotted by someone across the road from Mir’s house.
The device is reported to have been powerful enough to blow up a house, and conjecture goes it may have been installed when Mir visited a local market. This appears to be the first time that a magnetically-attached Under Vehicle Booby Trap (UVBT) has been used in Pakistan, a significant development in the methods used by terrorists. The deployment of a UVBT, albeit one that failed either through a fault in the trigger mechanism or the bomb being out of range of its triggering device, indicates that the terrorists have technological and pyrotechnic skills in their arsenal that are going to ensure more precision in targeting individuals.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), through their spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan, claimed responsibility for planting the device. Ehsan threatened to attack anyone pursuing a ‘secular’ agenda or expressing opposition to ‘jihad’, adding that those who target the Taliban will themselves be targeted. Investigations are on and Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who was among those who visited Mir, has announced Rs50 million as award for information that can lead to the capture of the persons behind the act.
Only good fortune may have prevented the plotters from succeeding. As for the reasons behind the incident, Mir has said so himself that he was on a militant kill-list sent to the interior ministry. This has been linked to Mir’s defence of Malala Yousafzai, along with some other comments he had made against militants and militancy. He has also lashed out at intelligence agencies, the military and others over various issues. Mir, not known to be one to mince his words, may well have offended a variety of people. This incident highlights the larger issue of safety of journalists in Pakistan. There must be a full investigation into the matter; the media too must help ensure that the authorities do not shy away from attempting to trace the perpetrators.
Hamid Mir also emphasised this, terming the incident as a warning to others in the profession. In recent years Pakistan has been rated as among the world’s most dangerous places for journalists by media rights bodies. This has been reinforced in a new report by the Paris-based media rights group Reporters Without Borders, the release of which coincided with the Mir incident. There are clearly forces at work that wish to silence a free and vibrant media. We must work collectively to prevent them from succeeding by thoroughly investigating the attempt on or threat to Mir’s life and by speaking up against such acts – so that freedom of expression is not stifled in a country where transparency and access to information are lacking already.
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