An explosion at a mosque in the Haska Mina district of eastern Nangarhar province during Friday prayer martyred at least 72 worshipers and wounded scores of others, the majority of whom were, according to locals, teenagers. Although no one has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing, people say that the Daesh terrorist group had made threats to locals. Before the blast, the group had also cut off water supply to the area, depriving the impoverished, underdeveloped community of farming, which is their main source of livelihood.
While no area of the country is safe, Nangarhar, especially the Shinwar district of the province, has been a hotspot of terrorist attacks for the past several years. The Islamic State or Daesh terrorists have committed crimes that are a shame for the whole humanity. The residents of the far-flung districts of the province located along the Durand Line have experienced extremely despicable forms of violence at the hands of Daesh terrorists, from incidents like beheadings to mass executions, blowing up their elderly people and forced marriages with their daughters. Since the government had failed to provide security for them, the Shinwari tribe that inhabits those districts was forced to rise up against Daesh to protect their lives and property. They fearlessly fought the terrorists with whatever scarce resources they had at their disposal, thereby becoming a staunch enemy to the group in lieu of the government. They have since then become a target for the terrorists who use every means to hurt them. In response to the mosque bombing, a local tribal elder has said they had received Daesh threats in a leaflet, which had also been shared with district police officials.
Looking at the threat level of Daesh, the government should have taken concrete measures in those districts, especially after the threat letters sent to local people. The government, which had failed to protect people from the terror of Daesh at the very beginning, is still unable to provide security in areas that local people have purged of terrorists. For support and sympathy with local communities and the Shinwari tribe, the central government should not only tighten security measures in those districts but also implement development projects so that they do not feel more alienated. The Shinwari people have suffered so much in recent years; therefore, they deserve continued attention of the government and people of Afghanistan.