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).
No words….no words at all!
Allah have mercy on my country.
Umar, I can try to understand your sentiments but all common punjabi, pakhtun, sindhi, baluchi, mohajir are same. It was and is always few people at the top who played this card all the time so people do not point fingers at them. Country bleeds every time no matter who is killed.
Umar, please can we avoid going down the ethnic divide at this time. I don’t think most people are thinking along those lines right now. I don’t think the poor ambulance driver who was killed in Karachi today while perfoming his duty, is being described by his ethnicity. So, please…… bus, bahut ho gaya….
looks like the Chicken has come home to roost!
whereas my heart weeps for the innocent people and at the state of affairs, I am not unhappy that the non-muhajirs are tasting the fruits of their elitism and punjabism.
Funny how when our Pukhtunwa bleeds, no1 weeps but when a few thugs r killed in karachi, the whole of the punjabi establishment gets into action, presidential meeting is called, rangers r sent, crackdown is initiated etc.
i am no racist, but facts r facts and punjab/punjabis should expect to taste the fruits they have sown elsewhere in the country.
Today MQM’s Altaf speech was really a comedy show for me. :)
I posted some photos I found online at: http://bznotes.wordpress.com/2007/05/12/karachi-is -burning-a-political-and-security-crisis/
Imran Khan speaking on AlJazeera English criticising MQM.
Pakistanies: Its time for revolution. WAKE UP. Topple Musharaf, hang him. Discard MQM, whose rich leader is sitting in the UK, having a lavish lifestyle(how the heck does he makes so expansive phone calls to address people?)Discard PPP, which has been tested many times. Discard Jamaiat-Islami, whose hipocricy we all have seen during the times of Zia. Discard Nawaz Muslim League, whose leader doesn’t have balls to return. Please wake up!!
I’m sick and tired of MQM using my city for their vile violent purposes.If the opposition parties were mainly responsible for the violence how come there was no violence in lahore and the rest of the country when the chief justice visited?If the opposition parties were responsible for the violence how come there was an MQM rally with that idiot in London holding another telephonic “khitab” and no other party was able to congregate?I’m so sick of all this senseless violence.I sincerely hope this is the end of the MQM era.Wake up all of you who support them!Mustaqil Qaumi Museebat indeed!