The Creeping Shadow

Byline: Nazir Naji After the death of Osama bin Laden, America and its allies thought that they had broken the back of the terrorists. But that didn't happen, at least, in Pakistan. The sudden death of OBL was indeed a jolt for his supporters but they organised with a new verve post his demise and the forceful retaliatory attack a mere three days after the capture of al-Mauritani depicts the power of Al-Qaeda within Pakistan. He was nabbed on the 5th of September and the DIG Balochistan of the Frontier Corps' house was attacked on the 7th; the attack was of a magnitude that Quetta hadn't witnessed before. The abode of the FC's officer is no less than a fortress and due to Balochistan's turbulent security situation, the security arrangements at his house were extraordinarily tight and al-Mauritani's capture also must have necessitated some tightening in the protection of the security forces. The fact that the attack took place despite all this is a clear indication of Al-Qaeda's strength.