One of the first mentions I saw on Twitter about the deadly attacks on two Karachi military installations on May 22 was from popular twitterer @Ali_Abbas_Zaidi.

I first saw this tweet of his:

Despite his minor typo at the end (it should have read Orion, instead of Onion), this tweet by Mr Zaidi is another example of the value and importance of Twitter in modern news reporting. It seems Mr Zaidi beat the big national news channels in obtaining information on the damaged aircraft. That tweet by Mr Zaidi was some time around (perhaps just before) 11pm. But actually, five tweets earlier and a few minutes before, he had already mentioned the damaged military aircraft:

So, at the time, while the type of damage was unclear, it was clear that unknown militants had managed to infiltrate a military base in Karachi and damage a multi-million-dollar piece of machinery. Throughout the night, Mr Zaidi continued to tweet valuable insights about the events because of his sources within the Navy (former classmates). From elsewhere too, the tweets and news reports kept pouring in: more bomb blasts, ongoing firing, big plumes of smoke, the need for blood donations. Besides the obvious dismay of another round of heartbreaking attacks in Pakistan (and the shock of another GHQ-style attack), a multitude of questions popped up: how big was the blast, how many people have been hurt and killed, how many attackers were there, was this an inside job and was the P-3C Orion the main target and why?

Here’s how Lockheed Martin, the US defence contractor and aviation manufacturer who builds the Orion, describes their aircraft:

The P-3 Orion is a peerless airborne hunter. Its reputation as the ultimate submarine finder was earned through more than 45 years of service, from the Cuban Missile Crisis to round-the-clock, patrols throughout the Cold War. With 435 aircraft in the worldwide fleet, the P-3 remains a relied-upon asset today and has proven to be remarkably well adapted for maritime patrol and support in recent world events including Operation Unified Assistance in Southeast Asia, Hurricane Katrina and the BP Horizon oil rig disaster in the U.S. No other aircraft is better suited for these missions.

The P-3 Orion is operated by 21 governments and agencies in 17 nations.

According to Wikipedia, it has a price tag of $36 million.

The Pakistan Navy ordered upgraded P-3 models (equipped with airborne early warning systems) from the US in 2006. These upgraded P-3Cs were delivered in early 2007 and 2010. The two planes delivered in 2010 from the US were formally inducted into the Pakistan Navy fleet at PNS Mehran (the site of the May 22 attacks) and are reported to possess anti-ship and submarine warfare capabilities with a large “bomb bay” to house missiles and torpedoes.

In essence these aircraft are for maritime patrolling. And so the situation raises further questions.

The terrorists ripping Pakistan asunder do not attack the country by sea. They come from within. They roam the mountainous regions that straddle Pakistan and Afghanistan. They have sprawling compounds in Muridke and brainwash young minds in the madrassahs of South Punjab. They have training camps in the lawless tribal areas and are said to be hiding out in the capital of the troubled province of Balochistan, Quetta.

Why would they target aircraft at PNS Mehran that are designed to protect the country from a different enemy? And if this type of aircraft has the capability to carry nuclear missiles, wouldn’t militants with their eyes on Pakistan’s nuclear prize want to keep some of these assets around? What is the importance of focusing on an aircraft that does not seem to directly threaten them?

Of course, everything seems to threaten the militants living among us: girls’ schools, public markets, Muharram processions, peaceful Ahmedis and politicians who stand up for minorities.

This could be another symbolic hit: an attack that targets the military men and equipment which have ties to the US. It could be an Al-Qaeda-type message to Pakistan to stop partnering with the West. But perhaps it is simply another sign of the brutal reality of the ideology of the Pakistani Taliban and other associated militant groups? Weaken the government, rattle the military and terrorise the people through violence. It has been proven over the years that the Taliban and its ilk will attack any military installation, any government installation and any public area in an effort to weaken, kill and intimidate. Why else would they continue to attack Navy installations? The work of sailors and those who guard Pakistan’s coast have nothing to do with the Taliban holed up across the land, yet in late April militants also targeted three buses killing several Navy personnel and injuring dozens more. Still, at this point, these reasons for this attack are purely speculative.

It is inevitable, though, that this paradox will get many commentators wondering about a foreign hand. It seems like it is already being hinted at. Shahzad Chaudhry, a defence analyst, told Express 24/7 (see video below) that the nation has to be careful about the intent of the attackers: “On whose behest are they undertaking such operations is something we need to be very worried about.”

For now, everyone should be very worried about the “how.” How did the attackers breach security and easily reach the location of these aircraft in another very sensitive and heavily guarded military installation?

Of course, at this point, it is too early to say anything in-depth about the how, the who or the why. So while Twitter provides us with what is on the surface (the whats and the wheres), and often gives us many impartial news sources, we still have trouble digging out the truth. Unfortunately, these mysteries are rarely resolved in Pakistan. One thing is for sure, though: something is terribly rotten in the state of Pakistan. There are holes and leaks and moles and radical freaks throughout the country: in the mountains, in the cities and within the nation’s centres of power. Things could not be this bad (and continue to worsen) if it were not so.

Click play to watch the video from Express 24/7:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3nf4Ceupms[/youtube]