ISLAMABAD - Poor Pakistanis had barely heaved sigh of relief before the suicide bombers struck again to wreak havoc, creating a law and order situation after a couple of months pause. Saturdays deadly devastating blasts in Peshawar and Bannu, that claimed over 20 precious lives, injured over 200 innocent masses with dozens critically injured, were once again a horrifying exhibition of evils impulse for bloodshed. At the same time, this tragic episode of deaths invites our slothful security institutions for a reality check. Off-the-record discussions with a few serving and former security personnel in the affected areas exposes glaring flaws in the 'stringent security measures and indicates that the high-sounding rhetoric of our federal and provincial governments regarding complete pulverisation of terrorists in North Western Pakistan is divorced from the reality. A former senior police official, who has a wide range of experience in the Peshawar police, argued that it was very evident from the security measures that were taken on Eid that certain loopholes were left for any untoward incident to happen. The emphasis of Peshawar police, he pointed, was primarily on Eid and the next two days that followed. They (Peshawar police) had devised a security plan that only focussed on the three Eid days and citys security was relaxed after Wednesday, that allowed the bombers to hit the city, he added. The former cop said that beefed up security steps from Monday to Wednesday only served half the purpose for while the terrorists could not strike on Eid, yet they accomplished their heinous designs in the same week. This entire week was very critical and flawless security across the country was the demand of the hour; but our security agencies remained active only till Eid, he added. Concurring with his colleagues arguments, another police official said the vigilance of our law enforcement departments was confined to Eid only, although there were strong intelligence reports about some fatal happening in the ongoing week (last Monday to today). He said that entry and exit points of the sensitive cities in the province were not being properly monitored during the last three days, which explains why the bombers hit populated areas with ease in Peshawar and Bannu. Anyone could move to any place without being checked or questioned here, and such kind of lean security can lead to any disaster, he added. Also, a potential threat, as pointed out by this newspaper time and again, comes from the close proximity of operation-hit areas to all the cities of NWFP. The reports regarding the presence of remnants of Talibans in the garb of IDPs hold valid ground. The peace in the region is unlikely to prevail unless the direct and passive supporters of Talibans are taken to task.