What is it going to take to make us Pakistanis realise that the war against terror raging in the northern and tribal areas of the country — and increasingly, in major urban centers — is our war? The suicide bombing at Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel should have done the trick. The attack occurred in Ramadan, a holy month that the government initially aimed to observe by declaring a cease-fire with the militants. Although that move was deemed a security faux pas, the fact that the militants who fight in the name of God felt no similar compulsion to respect the sanctity of Ramadan should resonate with many. As should the CCTV footage showing the hotel’s hapless security guards rushing about moments before the attack, which is circulating endlessly via YouTube.

More than the timing of the attack, its devastating death toll should have Pakistanis simultaneously enraged and introspective. By conservative estimates, 53 people were killed and 250 injured in the suicide bombing. Of those killed, four have been identified as foreigners: two US Marines, the Czech ambassador, and a Danish intelligence official. The rest were Pakistanis — innocent hotel employees and area residents out with their families for dinner. As a result, the local media dubbed the attack “Pakistan’s 9/11.” But that moniker has not necessarily provoked Pakistanis to take ownership of the local war against terror.

On Wednesday night, Islamabad-based journalists allegedly received text messages from the group that has claimed responsibility for the Marriott bombing, stating that more attacks against American targets were imminent. Interestingly enough, the Pakistani owner of the Marriott Hotel and others who dared ‘facilitate’ the United States were identified as targets. The ludicrous claim that a successful Pakistani businessman is ‘an American target’ should make the majority of us realise that this spreading terror is in fact an internal matter and one that is steadily spinning out of control. After all, when Pakistanis become ‘American targets’ for inexplicable reasons, no one remains immune. Am I vulnerable because I have attended university in the US? Are you in the line of fire because you keep your savings in US dollars?

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