This may take years to end

A child in Tank (near South Waziristan) died after the “toy” he was playing with exploded. Mohammad Shoaib and his friends mistook a bomb as toy, which ended Shoaib’s life and injured his friends.

Such incidents have been common in Afghanistan where hundreds, if not thousands, of Afghan children have died and continue to die from the leftovers explosives that punctuate the Afghan landscape since the hostilities began in mid seventies.

Pakistan may have to deal with the leftover explosives in the tribal areas for decades to come unless efforts are made to recover planted mines, IEDs, and other explosives. Given Pakistan State’s negligent past of protecting its people, one finds no reasons to be hopeful on this front.