Tehmasib
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What next after the audacious attack by militants on the joint civil-military airport in Peshawar that houses the Bacha Khan International Airport and the Pakistan Air Force and Army aviation bases? This is the third such attack after the one on Pakistan Navys Mehran airbase in Karachi and the PAFs Kamra base. In fact, all airbases and airports in the country are a potential target, but those high on the priority list of the militants have been attacked first.
The assault on the Peshawar airbase was waiting to happen. One could say the rocket attacks targeting it last year were of a probing nature and were forewarning of a bigger assault. The attack didnt cause any human and material loss because these small-range rockets are inaccurate. But the psychological impact was immense as several airlines stopped flying to Peshawar. At least six international airlines based in the Gulf countries suspended flights to Peshawar on a lucrative route as there is no dearth of passengers mostly overseas Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.
The authorities also knew that Peshawar airport could be attacked and, therefore, had ensured enhanced security measures were put in place in recent years. It seems there was greater focus on increasing security checks on passengers, their relatives and friends who had come to see them off or receive them, and vehicles plying there than protecting the outer parameters of the sprawling airport. The attackers were obviously aware of these unprecedented security measures and had, therefore, spotted the vulnerable spots on the Abdara and Bara roads where they felt the boundary wall could be breached to allow them entry into the airports premises to attack the planes and the installations. Their plans didnt work and the attack failed.
The 10 attackers, all suicide bombers referred to as fidai by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that claimed responsibility for the attack, were killed but it took 16 hours to eliminate the last five who had escaped under the cover of darkness and taken refuge in an under-construction house in Pawaki village situated about a kilometre away from the airport.
A failed attack doesnt mean the militants wont attempt another assault against the same target, or a similar one elsewhere. Rather, more could be attempted by them to avenge the loss of fallen colleagues. The Peshawar airbase would remain at the top of the TTP hit-list, as its leadership knows it is used by jet-fighters and gunship helicopters that carry out aerial strikes against the militants in the tribal areas.
Another major target is the joint civil-military Chaklala airport, renamed after Benazir Bhutto, which was attacked by a suicide bomber without causing any damage in a botched attack a few years ago. In fact, all Pakistani airports except those in Karachi and Sialkot are jointly used for civil and military purposes. This can sometimes cause complications because the Air Traffic Control is in the hands of the PAF at these airports and the radars are jointly managed by the PAF and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
There may not always be unity of command, a term made famous by Gen Pervez Musharraf when he was pleading his case to remain in uniform as the army chief as well as the president, at some of these airports. In the past, the Airport Security Force (ASF) used to be answerable to the airport managers and the CAA, but it has now grown in size and functions directly under the defence ministry. Crisis management cells reportedly exist at the airports, though one doesnt know if such systems are efficiently in place at smaller airports.
Way back in 1995, the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), led by the now jailed Maulana Sufi Mohammad, occupied the small Saidu Sharif airport in Swat without facing any real resistance. The Pakistani Taliban and their foreign allies and like-minded groups could plan a similar attack targeting a small airbase.
The one on the Peshawar airbase was much more ambitious and thus the militants plans failed to materialise. However, it wasnt the first such attack and it wont be the last. Lowering ones guards would, therefore, be fatal as the threat of such attacks has increased because the TTP after attacking three airbases has figured out that the high-level security there can be breached
The assault on the Peshawar airbase was waiting to happen. One could say the rocket attacks targeting it last year were of a probing nature and were forewarning of a bigger assault. The attack didnt cause any human and material loss because these small-range rockets are inaccurate. But the psychological impact was immense as several airlines stopped flying to Peshawar. At least six international airlines based in the Gulf countries suspended flights to Peshawar on a lucrative route as there is no dearth of passengers mostly overseas Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.
The authorities also knew that Peshawar airport could be attacked and, therefore, had ensured enhanced security measures were put in place in recent years. It seems there was greater focus on increasing security checks on passengers, their relatives and friends who had come to see them off or receive them, and vehicles plying there than protecting the outer parameters of the sprawling airport. The attackers were obviously aware of these unprecedented security measures and had, therefore, spotted the vulnerable spots on the Abdara and Bara roads where they felt the boundary wall could be breached to allow them entry into the airports premises to attack the planes and the installations. Their plans didnt work and the attack failed.
The 10 attackers, all suicide bombers referred to as fidai by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that claimed responsibility for the attack, were killed but it took 16 hours to eliminate the last five who had escaped under the cover of darkness and taken refuge in an under-construction house in Pawaki village situated about a kilometre away from the airport.
A failed attack doesnt mean the militants wont attempt another assault against the same target, or a similar one elsewhere. Rather, more could be attempted by them to avenge the loss of fallen colleagues. The Peshawar airbase would remain at the top of the TTP hit-list, as its leadership knows it is used by jet-fighters and gunship helicopters that carry out aerial strikes against the militants in the tribal areas.
Another major target is the joint civil-military Chaklala airport, renamed after Benazir Bhutto, which was attacked by a suicide bomber without causing any damage in a botched attack a few years ago. In fact, all Pakistani airports except those in Karachi and Sialkot are jointly used for civil and military purposes. This can sometimes cause complications because the Air Traffic Control is in the hands of the PAF at these airports and the radars are jointly managed by the PAF and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
There may not always be unity of command, a term made famous by Gen Pervez Musharraf when he was pleading his case to remain in uniform as the army chief as well as the president, at some of these airports. In the past, the Airport Security Force (ASF) used to be answerable to the airport managers and the CAA, but it has now grown in size and functions directly under the defence ministry. Crisis management cells reportedly exist at the airports, though one doesnt know if such systems are efficiently in place at smaller airports.
Way back in 1995, the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), led by the now jailed Maulana Sufi Mohammad, occupied the small Saidu Sharif airport in Swat without facing any real resistance. The Pakistani Taliban and their foreign allies and like-minded groups could plan a similar attack targeting a small airbase.
The one on the Peshawar airbase was much more ambitious and thus the militants plans failed to materialise. However, it wasnt the first such attack and it wont be the last. Lowering ones guards would, therefore, be fatal as the threat of such attacks has increased because the TTP after attacking three airbases has figured out that the high-level security there can be breached
