The outrage of blowing up a Baglung-bound Sajha bus in the Valley, killing one person and injuring nearly two-dozen passengers shows that the Maoists deliberately wanted to make an example of a cooperative that dared to ply during bandas. Along with the trolley bus, Sajha restarted its service at the request of the public even though a past government closed them down. Sunday's attack wasn't the first of its kind: a little girl died in a similar ambush of a public bus in Chitwan. In Mainapokhari at Dolakha, the rebels attacked another bus and tried to foist the blame on security forces.

Only the previous week, the National Human Rights Commission asked the rebels to respect international humanitarian law that ensures the people's right to travel, reminding them that the Geneva Convention prohibits attacks on civilians. The rebels were quick enough to express their commitment to these guidelines but their deeds don't match their words. The rebel attacks on public transportation are neither justified nor helpful in pressurising the government towards negotiations. These deeds just turn them into terrorists.