If it's not the TTP... ?BY SHYEMA SAJJAD

Men grieve the death of relatives at a hospital in Islamabad, after a bomb tore through a bustling market, killing at least 21 people. ------------ Could dialogue have saved the lives of the 21 people killed in the Islamabad blast today? Apparently the government thought so – or perhaps still does. But then again, one may ask why should peace talks with the Taliban come under fire when the Tehreek-e-Taliban themselves have condemned today’s attack claiming, "such attacks targeting innocent people are forbidden in Sharia and they are un-Islamic." This statement by the TTP, if true, brings us back to the mysterious hidden hands then – the entity supposedly responsible for the recent attacks. Could dialogue have saved the lives of the 21 people killed in the Islamabad blast today? Apparently the government thought so – or perhaps still does. But then again, one may ask why should peace talks with the Taliban come under fire when the Tehreek-e-Taliban themselves have condemned today’s attack claiming, "such attacks targeting innocent people are forbidden in Sharia and they are un-Islamic." This statement by the TTP, if true, brings us back to the mysterious hidden hands then – the entity supposedly responsible for the recent attacks.