Adil Najam
Pictures on the television show Karachi burning. The city is at war. Morchas everywhere. Clashes, violence, firing, deaths.
The Chief Justice is holed up at the airport and the streets are ruled by mobs. Aaj TV is being fired at and Talat Hussain reports that the police and rangers are unable to get their to help because the roads are blocked (to stop the Chief Justice). Of course, these road blocks have not stopped the killers who are firing at the TV station. As of now 15 are reported dead. Over 100 seriously injured. Hospitals in Karachi have declared an emergency. The Prime Minister has called an emergency meeting of his own to respond to what the government is calling a ‘security situation’ but which sounds, smells, looks and feels like the beginning of a war on the streets of Karachi. Flights in and out of the city are stalled. Train traffic is stopped. The city seems to have descended back to its darkest days of street violence.
Meanwhile, the petty blame game continues. But things are changing too fast for one to analyze them. But one thing is certain. Things have gone out of control. Totally out of control. Totally out of everyone’s control. It is a sad sad day for all of us.
I wish I had something more profound to say. All I can hink of right now is what someone wrote on our comments section recently: Khuda Khair Karray!
(Picture credits BBC and The News and pictorial story at Bilal Zuberi’s blog; great blog coverage at Karachi Metroblog).
Ibrahim & Blue & Grey
Thanks for your views, when I mean revolution it must be a peaceful non-violent movement. The Quaid stood above all for the rule of law, just imagine the scene in Quetta, Karachi, Peshawar, Lahore and elsewhere if millions have a day of action (peaceful) and the effect if they fired on compared to street fights which I do not support. Remember we are one people and we must stand together in our hour of need.
Feimanallah & Pakistan Zindabad
Daily Jang and The News have seen the writing on the wall. The latest news gives preference to the death of Taleban leader in Afghanistan.
These papers have always sided with MQM whenever this organisation starts its ‘peaceful activities’ you know what I mean.
Disturbances continue second day in Karachi. MQM Nero must be playing flute in his North London ‘International Secretariate’.
I just heard Al Jazeera. Kamal Hyder was saying that Mush address rally in Islamabad yesterday and he said that not more than 50,000 people were there to listen to Mush.
In Karachi, Geo and ARY were portraying MQM really as a big one but it was obvious from the faces of the people in audience that it was rather a picnique than a political rally. I am sure MQM followers must have been very much impressed by comical speech from their leader.
Geo TV is spending today’s time in showing Hockey match while Karachi is burning. ARYOne is showing the situation in Karachi but as usual shying away from telling the audience who the miscreants are!!!
interesting how MQM and anti-MQM wallahs are trying to force their views here through narraas instead of analysis. Maybe that is just the nature of Karachi politics and Karachi people. As a Karachite myself I think we have lost all tolerance and cannot even argue properly. Even if you look on earlier threads some of teh people who lose their temper the most and mostly needlessly are from Karachi.
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Of course, this scorn should not just be reserved for the leadership and Pakistani elite, it is shared amongst any who care about Pakistan, including myself – SHAME ON ALL OF US FOR ALLOWING THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN PAKISTAN TO GET THIS BAD!!![/quote]
cdnt agree more with u, as they say “evil succeeds when good men do nothing”.
we the keyboard warriors who r liberals, educated, sane and patriotic r the worse than mqm, ppp etc bcoz we despite having all the resources and knowledge choose 2 sit back and just watch as silent spectators.
its time to form a new party, the Pakistan Liberals Party.
plz bear with me and my manifesto will soon be published here :)