Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar has said that the Peshawar Airport had been reopened on the orders of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. The airport had been closed down for security reasons.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Spokesman Parvez George had earlier told the media persons that the airport had been temporarily closed down due to some “technical reasons”. Though he did not explain the “technical reasons”, a security official told Weekly Pulse that they had received reports that militants might target the commercial civil flights and the airport building.
A senior provincial government official said that this was the third time that the militants had threatened the government with targeting the flights and airport building. “We took the threat seriously and closed down the airport with the consent of the Defence Ministry. The airport has been attacked with rockets three times but fortunately the key installations remained safe,” the official added.
The airport is quite close to the area where the militants have already carried out several successful attacks, including an attack on Pearl Continental Hotel and a suicide attack on Senior Provincial Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour at Qayyum Stadium, Peshawar, which is half kilometer from the airport.
Technical experts are surprised at the militants’ expertise to hit their targets, which include some key installations like the electricity towers. The rockets were fired from a far-off place but they hit their targets.
This is for the first time that flights at Peshawar Airport remained suspended for more than 40 hours. Passengers from far-off areas of Peshawar and southern and northern districts of Peshawar were worried about the suspension of flights.
Before the closure of airport, the pilots association had refused to carry out operations from Peshawar Airport after the death of a pilot and injuries to many crew members during the Pearl Continental Hotel bombing.
The government has now decided to reopen the airport, saying that all arrangements had been put in place for the security of passengers and airport installations and aircraft. The presence of militants in Peshawar city could not be ruled out but after the Pearl Continental Hotel bombing it would not be easy for them to target the airport or passenger flights as the law-enforcement agencies have covered key installations.
The provincial government has decided to set up FM radio stations in Malakand Division to counter the militants’ propaganda. Briefing journalists at the Civil Officers’ Mess, Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that terrorism could not be eradicated by killing terrorists rather changing the people’s mindset was the key to eliminate it.
The minister called upon the religious scholars to come forward and play an effective role in educating the masses on jihad and suicide bombings. It is to be mentioned here that in most restive parts of FATA and Malakand Division FM radios have played a major role to terrorize the people and grab extortions from the locals to continue their anti-state activities.
It had been in the notice of all the previous federal and provincial governments that dozens of FM channels were busy promoting militancy and terrorism in Swat and Tribal Areas and collecting funds in the name of jihad but barring the seizure of equipment no major action was taken against those operating these radio channels.
If the measures to block these channels had been taken earlier, the government could have avoided the massive killings of innocent people.
The Internally Displace Persons (IDPs) are desperate to leave for their hometowns, as life in the tents is getting worse day by day. During his visit to Peshawar last Friday, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani had assured the provincial government that the military operation will be stopped soon after realizing its objectives.
Public circles demand that the government immediately wind up the military operations in Swat and Tribal Areas so that the displaced people could go back to their homes.