Chopper crash in Pakistan: Tehrik-e-Taliban have upgraded their battle to another level

Islamabad, May 8: The shooting down of the chopper in Northern Pakistan which claimed six lives was a direct message to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharrif by the Tehrik-e-Taliban.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban which claimed responsibility for the incident said that it had targeted Sharrif indirectly.

A chopper carrying several persons including the ambassadors of Norway and Philippines had crashed after it was reportedly shot down in Northern Pakistan.

In all six persons were killed in the crash. The TTP was quick to claim responsibility for the incident.

What does the TTP want?

It was expected that that the Tehrik-e-Taliban would claim responsibility for this incident.

While the veracity of their claim is still under question, a couple of points come to mind.

The TTP seems to be extremely well equipped and is capable of shooting down a chopper.

The other point is that this is a direct attack on visiting dignitaries and the level of their warfare has just been upgraded to a higher level.

This is an attack on ambassadors of another nation and it does put Pakistan in very poor light and gives the message that no one is safe.

The TTP on the other would want credit for this attack. Not only does it give the outfit the mileage that it thrives on, but also sends a message to Nawaz Sharrif warning him to go slow on them.

In the recent months after the attack on the Peshawar, the Pakistan government has upped the ante against the TTP which it has very often referred to as the Bad Taliban.

The battle gets bloodier:

In a bid to wash its hands over the monster it had created, the Pakistan army a day back blamed India for sponsoring terror.

However, this was a frail attempt to wash away its hands and play the victim in the region.

However the fact is that the interference of the ISI into the affairs of the Taliban and trying to convert them into stooges of the Americans is what led to the eventual break up in the Taliban.

Moreover, there were leadership issues and the ISI appeared to be siding with the older lot which the younger fighters did not like.

The TTP has staged some of the most brutal attacks in Pakistan and the most horrific one was on the school in Peshawar.

An operation to wipe out the TTP was launched by Pakistan and this has made the battle even more horrific.

By targeting choppers carrying foreign ambassadors, the TTP has just gone a step ahead and embarrassed the Nawaz Sharrif government.

Sharrif will have to answer a series of extremely uncomfortable questions on the issue now and would have to do a whole lot more to ensure the safety of lives in his country.

If foreign officials and ambassadors are targeted and killed with such ease, there is no real gurantee that the common man will be safe at all.

OneIndia News