While the whole nation was busy in running commentary of the Sharifs’ return from London and witnessing the circus show second by second, the enemies of Pakistan were planning and executing another terrorist attack against sons of Pakistan, this time in Balochistan.

More than 140 innocent people lost their lives and 200 got injured in Mastung, in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil. Two days earlier, we lost the humble and sane voice of young Haroon Bilour in a similar attack; in Mastung the target was a young and brave patriotic Baloch, Nawab Siraj Raisani.

As the blood soaked bodies were being moved to hospitals amid the sirens of ambulances and the gory pictures of body parts of martyrs shredded into pieces were being spread, some of our brothers and sisters were busy targeting law enforcing agencies for their failure to stem the tide of terrorist attacks.

What were we doing then? Point scoring, spinning and abusing each other, as the entire media was almost drowned in the frenzied arrival of Sharifs. On one side, we had blood stained bodies of 140 martyrs of Balochistan and scores injured and under treatment in stressed medical system of the province, and, on the other side we had the Sharif’s show being telecasted like a one day cricket match, with senior journalists and anchors trying to comment on every move and word of the Sharifs.

Strange coincidence that the loss of Bilours and Raisanis came in opposite sequence, Bashir Ahmed Bilour was martyred in 2013 followed by his brave son Haroon Bilour in 2018; in case of Balochistan, it was Mir Hakmal Raisani getting martyred in 2011 and his father Siraj Raisani laying his life in 2018.

Coming from the royal house of Nawab of Sarawan, this family has always worked for a united Pakistan and has remained a source of strength for proud and patriotic Balochs. Mir Siraj Khan Raisani’s quotes were spreading on social media like fire, yet unfortunately our mainstream media remains focused on Punjab, KPK and Sindh, and has never shown the will and courage to cover Balochistan in desired detail.

One message from Siraj Raisani read, “My late father Nawab Ghaus Bakhsh Raisani, as captain of the Pakistan Army, taught me to always be ready to be on the front lines in order to defend our motherland Pakistan from any enemies, and the patriot blood of my father is still warm in my veins”.

In other social media outlets, Siraj Raisani’s picture standing on the Indian flag went viral. No wonder India and her surrogates in Pakistan did not like these gestures and he had to be targeted to convey a message to all patriots in Pakistan that those exposing Indian terror in Pakistan will be punished.

The message from media outlets in India, sub nationalist terror outfits in Balochistan and even some Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) trolls was very disturbing and pathetic as they were almost celebrating the martyrdom of this great son of Pakistan and his companions.

140 martyrs means 140 kitchens have become empty without their bread earners and 140 families have been torn apart with the loss of their loved ones. The minimum we can do is to donate resources and provide moral support to the people of Balochistan.

Why was the rally of PML-N allowed to loiter on roads of Lahore after the tragedy of Mastung? Are we a heartless nation which has become senseless? Or is it a collective failure of the entire Pakistani society? We will have to see how this terror affects the election campaign and if Pakistani political parties change the strategy to ensure that elections preparations are made within the security environment.

What is the role of hostile agencies to destabilize Pakistan? Indian RAW has probably worked out a terror campaign to create maximum effects during election in July without realizing that India will also be going into poles next year. Indian fault lines are deeper than Pakistan and these have the potential of a powder keg.

While the top politico military leadership and main stream political parties showed solidarity with the kin of martyred leaders and common Pakistanis, one question keeps haunting me; why has Pakistan failed to fully expose the role of hostile agencies, especially those having direct support from India and the western world? When are we going to say that enough is enough and draw a red line?

It may be noted that Nawab Siraj Raisani lost his son Mir Hakmal Khan Raisani in a terror attack in 2011 at Mastung. He had remained defiant to threats of death by hostile intelligence agencies operating against Pakistan and had posted a poem on social media in 2014;

If I die, don’t waste a shed of your tear

Instead continue to prosper for Pakistan

For then I shall know that we have won

I am Siraj Khan Raisani Baloch

And I will die as Pakistani

I will quote from a brief speech made by the son of the martyred Siraj Raisiani after his young brother was martyred in 2011, “today he is not with us, but I am proud of him, being a Shaheed is not the forte of a coward, it’s only the brave who adopt the path of martyrdom. People ask me why do you support Pakistan, and I tell them don’t ask what Pakistan has given to you, ask what we have given to Pakistan”

Similarly Haroon Bilour’s son Daniyal Bilour put up a brave face just after the martyrdom of his father and clearly spelt out that those members of PTM who were trying to exploit the shahddat of his father and raising slogans against Pakistan Armed forces were foreign agents and he stood with Pakistan, its people and the Pakistan Army.

With three generations giving sacrifices for Pakistan ,these proud and simple Baloch and Pashtuns have conveyed a very strong message to Pakistanis and their enemies in the region; irrespective of whether you are a Kashmiri, Baloch, Sindhi, Pashtun, Siraiki, Hazara, Baltistani or Punjabi; Pakistan is there to stay and has the brave hearts who will continue to fight for Pakistan with the spirit of their forefathers.

The writer is a freelance journalist.