After BB, Fazlur Rehman?

It appears that Fazlur Rehman is now being targeted by militant groups. More worrying is the fact that the Maulana, like BB, is being forced to rely on his party, rather than the state, for his security. All the government appears to be doing is passing on extremely vague and unspecific information on the potential assassination attempt.

After receiving the intelligence-based information from the Interior Ministry, Fazlur Rehman immediately called the JUI-F to meet in his hometown Dera Ismail Khan, streamlining the added security cover through party resources.

The meeting, held on Tuesday, expressed complete dissatisfaction over the government security arrangements for Fazl and decided to hold the rulers responsible in case something untoward happened, the party sources said.

The government passed on the information, saying a clean-shaven person wearing white clothes could target the Maulana through a suicide bombing or firing, party sources said while referring to the discussions held at the meeting.

A clean-shaven person wearing white clothes. Hmm, that really narrows it down, doesn't it?

Anyway, it's no surprise that the Maulana is now being targeted. After all, he more than most has displayed a willingness to play ball with Musharraf. His party, the JUI-F, is strongest in the rural areas of NWFP - as opposed to the other main religious party, Qazi Hussain Ahmed's JI, which has more of a stronghold in urban areas like Karachi. The tribal areas in the Frontier are where anti-state violence is most strongly concentrated today, so he potentially holds the key to any lasting political settlement in the region. All things considered, the government would be best advised to step up its protection of the Maulana, lest we see a repeat of December 27.