Since yesterday, tension has increased in the Barra Tehsil on the suburbs of Peshawar. Since i am myself sitting in Peshawar and very close to Barra Tehsil, i witnessed helicopters moving towards the tehsil, where now a curfew has been imposed. Relatives and dear ones are calling each other to stay inside homes as active fighting may start anytime with wide repercussions for the posh locality of Hayatabad, bordering the Khyber Tribal agency.

In the last fight between two groups in Khyber agency, the residents of Hayatabad were deprived of peace as the sounds of heavy gun fire echoed the town and the resident didn’t sleep for weeks. I can myself feel the fear that has engulfed the whole city and specially the areas adjoining the tribal areas. I wonder when a city of 3 million people is so tense, how can Zardari go to Greece and Turkey to have some good time in the name of bilateral relations. The rates of property has already crashed in Peshawar and people are rationing food for rainy days while rich are fleeing the city to the nearby city of Islamabad, which is also the next city in line and the capital of Pakistan.. Even New York Times gave a wide spread coverage to the fact that the city of Peshawar is in danger of falling to the Taliban. Baithullah Mehsud has also acknowledged the fact that taking over Peshawar is a matter of hours for his loyalists.

I wonder our brothers and sisters in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi are sleeping? Don’t they realize the fact that the next city in line after Peshawar is Islamabad and that the Taliban have already spread their influence till Attock, the bordering city of NWFP with Punjab.

Share This Article

Hide Sites