The Easter Bombers

Does that not sound bizarrely simple that the 12 students arrested in the most dramatically executed anti-terror raids, just before Easter, were freed without charge after 12 days in detention? Isn’t it surprising?

Considering the scale and the manner it was executed, the operation in Liverpool, Manchester and Lancashire (a total of 14 properties) is vast and something of this intensity doesn’t happen until there are concrete convictions and sure indications.

It definitely was a ‘VERY WELL’ coordinated stunt operation by the intelligence and enforcement agencies and, of course to glamorize, the media. Documents leaked in the press, raid rules ignored, educational and residential terror generated to create a worldwide media impact, blame games, threats, investigations, mental torture and finally the ‘deported’ release of the suspects.

So the question arises that if them guys were innocent, then why deport them and if deporting them, what is the evidence against them, and if there is evidence, then why releasing them without charge?

If the media was present when they were being arrested and again when the documents were being exposed with shameful negligence, where was it when the innocent (until proven guilty) were being released? Arresting them made international headlines but releasing them is side news thingy?

Shouldn’t it be that the worldwide impact created against a nation be reversed with rigorous-ity of the same magnitude that it was initiated with? After all a whole nation has been shamed, blamed and humiliated, ain’t it?

It’s good that Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick of Scotland Yard resigned on the leaking stage of this operation probably resulting in a lot of innocent people being saved suffering at his hands from grossly mistaken and misleading intelligence. Like his surname, he seems to be ‘QUICK’ in all his acts, compiling unworthy intelligence, exposing it, resigning quick-ly and who knows what else.

Media ‘Quick’ can’t wait either as it has to seize every opportunity, or create one, spicing up events in their favour. Had this report not been exposed, probably, the agencies would have done their homework, probably, catching the now innocent captives red handed. Months of efforts and very precious public money down the drain because of media’s irresponsible professionalism.

I reckon the media brought this shame on the agencies and not one of their own failures. For agencies, after all, it is a standard operational procedure, to suspect and then to rule out the innocent while weeding out the responsible, but leaking info before hand disturbs this cycle.

The police has to been seen to be doing something what the common terms as ‘community service’. I fully favour the method in which the operation was conducted because to suppress threats they have to be tackled with even stronger oppressing hands.

No fault of the officers in the frontline of the action. They acted on instructions and acted with acute responsibility without loss or damage to life otherwise such incidents in the past have led to bloody encounters which are difficult to cover up, specially the ones ending in the manner Operation Pathway ended.

Lord Carlile of Berriew, the reviewer of terror legislation, has said that he would carry out a “SNAPSHOT” review of the incident which will involve input for all involved ASAP. Meanwhile Mr. Shenwari, the arrested and now released British citizen, is now living in a hotel while his house is being restored after the extensive damage caused to it, while the others have been handed over to the Home Office for deportation.

Once deported, their future is now completely destroyed as they have a label on their foreheads which will follow them to the grave, doesn’t matter they die of natural causes or otherwise.

Operation Pathway also provides an opportunity to overhaul the currently active student recruitment system by the UK Home Office. I wont blame the Pakistani authorities for any procedural failures as anybody can apply to travel anywhere in the world from any country.

It’s the same as a British student wanting to study in the US. So, in this case, its the US makes sure that appropriate immigration checks and balance systems are in place while they simply cannot blame the UK authorities for their own failure if any undesirable instant involving the same British student happens.

It is relatively easy to blame someone who has already been defamed as notorious while it is particularly challenging to check ones own house for loopholes and failures. Slap a badly injured person who is already in severe pain doesn’t hurt or prove anything and that is the case with Pakistan at the moment.

The rape victim stops counting figures after a threshold limit but every subsequent action only adds to the victim’s agony while exposing the brutality and the cruelty of the rapists. It takes a lot less time for doing things and many a time we have to use our teeth to undo them.

In a fragile world as of today, nations as a whole, and we, specifically, as an individual need to play the constructive role that is expected of us humans in every virtue. Humanity is predestined to be doomed by default, so not much time and effort would be required if we choose to continue in this direction. Choose the ending wisely.