Blasts at Boston marathon

THE American nation is still in shock and grief after the killings of innocent people in Boston marathon explosions. The blasts hit several innocent people who were watching the climax of 

marathon from sidelines.

Several world leaders and the UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon have condemned the attack. Killing of innocent people is heinous act and can’t provide justification to any cause. Delay in justice is denying justice. Those involved in killing innocent people must be brought to justice immediately. The fact is that the US people rarely experienced such tragic incidents, while killings of innocent people are a daily routine in countries where US forces are operating. After the withdrawal of US forces, situation is still unstable in Iraq and killing of 40 to 50 people have become routine there.

Most of the people who lost their lives are innocent civilians, but the world community is silent. A record number of civilians most of them women and children have lost their lives in Afghanistan due to Nato bombardment and roadside bombings. Earlier this month, a roadside bomb killed 17 civilians, mostly women and children, on their way to a wedding party in western Afghanistan.

Eleven innocent children lost their lives when NATO war planes mistakenly hit their homes. The civilian population is also paying a high price for US drone attacks in Pakistan. An attack on a religious seminary in South Waziristan killed 80 innocent children only a few years ago. The killing of Damadola seminary children in South Waziristan is still considered the worst in Pakistan’s tribal history.

In his recent statement, former US president Jimmy Carter has accepted that drones are targeting civilians. The blood of these innocent people is not any different from that of those killed in the Connecticut school tragedy. The world community must raise its concern for these people who are paying a high price for US adventure in different countries.

KHAWAJA UMER FAROOQ

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia