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).
So so tragic…
Karachi would have been a different city if MQM was not born and it didn’t hijack our great city.
Safety and peace for the innocent people. Ameen.
Bilal, hope your family is safe.
Bilal check BBC Urdu website for some pics.
کراچی: ÛÂ?نگامے، ÛÂ?لاکتیں، جسٹس اÙÂ?تخار ’مØÂصور‘
See picture on this link..
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2007/05/ 070512_justice_mqm_rallies_ns.shtml)
Can any body post some pictures here please, even if they are off the TV coverage?
I am told I have family inside the Aaj TV station. I am quite worried. Having known MQM close enough, I know that when they decide to kill, its hard to stop them.
AAJ TV reports that Atleast 300 DANDAA BARDAR people are around AAJ TV building and enar Guru Mandir and 50 police cops. It means one _efficient_ jawan can handle 6 people single handedly. MQM’s Danda Bardar Enlightened and Moderated shariat is in action!
yes ibrahim, at the end of the day, it;s KARACHI who is sending negative image to outerworld. Karachi is not different than Delhi.
Karachi jo ek shahar tha aalam-e-intikhab
Hum rahne waale hain usi ujray dayar ke
Problem is that we are not united.While AAJ TV/Business Recorder Building and surrounding building were literally hijacked by these goons, other channels were NOT even giving proper coverage to AAJ’s incident. Normally I have seen that One channel starts telecasting the coverage of other channels to cover the things which they can’t cover. GEO and ARY should have shown some dignity to telecast AAJ telecast on their TV so that viewers of others channels could get the truth but since these channels are always ready to eat each other, they kept showing off their stengthts by telecasting their own programs.
I must salute AAJ and Talat again. The way they are using candid cams is hell horrible and difficult. They have literally put their lives at risk. Watching AAJ shows that I am watching Beirut.
Abrar, thanks for telling about this technology. Hope someone w0uld like to use to capture the moments via Webcams or Mobile cams.