News Release

Airport Attack in Pakistan

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The Guardian reports: “The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for a brazen attack on the country’s busiest civilian airport by a squad of 10 heavily armed gunmen, which is likely to dash hopes of a peace deal with the militant group.”

JUNAID AHMAD, [in Pakistan, 12 hours ahead of U.S. ET] junaidsahmad at gmail.com
Ahmad is with the faculty of law and policy at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

He said today: “Karachi airport faced a vicious attack by a group of heavily armed terrorists last night, causing several deaths and injuries in what was a furious battle between the Pakistani state and suspected militants. It’s clear that the state’s war against militancy in the northwest tribal region is beginning to spill over into the major urban centers — as many had predicted. The Pakistani adoption of the U.S. approach to tackling terrorism may finally bring what some call ‘the most dangerous country’ to a boiling point, and the internal fissures may no longer be able to be contained, not even by the formidable Pakistani army.”

RAFIA ZAKARIA, rafia.zakaria at gmail.com, @rafiazakaria
Currently in U.S., Zakaria is a columnist for Dawn, Pakistan’s largest English newspaper. Her book The Upstairs Wife: An Intimate History of Pakistan will be published this year. She recently wrote the piece “Taliban’s Rise in Karachi Must Be Stopped.”

She said today: “Taliban activity in Karachi has increased exponentially over the past year as the extremist group fleeing military operations and drone attacks in the northwest has now set up shop in this densely populated city of 20 million. It is a dire situation with Karachi’s many millions now hostage to the War on Terror between the United States and the Taliban.”