Agenda of striking terror

 

 

This is regarding the cover feature 'TRI colour terror' (TSI December 3, 2007). The pattern clearly points to terrorism with the purpose of unleashing fear, this time among lawyers and members of the judiciary. By targeting courts in Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi, two of which are dealing with cases involving Islamist terrorists, the perpetrators of the November 23 bombings have sought to send out a clear message: Any attempt to punish jihadis will be resisted with further violence. If the scrapping of POTA by the UPA Government to appease those who endorse jihadi crimes in the name of Islam has tremendously weakened our ability to combat terrorism, Friday's targeted attacks can only weaken the resolve of those who are forced to deal with the menace in the absence of an appropriate legal framework. In a sense, those responsible for the outrage have demonstrated that they can thumb their nose at authority, such as it exists at the Centre and in the states, and carry on with their agenda of striking terror.

S.A. Jayatheertha

Hyderabad