Following yesterday’s murderous attack on Islamabad, Karachi has been rocked today by a series of blasts (seven reported till now).
According to The News:
One person was killed and 50 others injured in a series of 6 blasts that ripped through different areas of the busiest city of country on Monday. Two explosions occurred here in Banaras area. One of the blasts happened in a pile of garbage while the other one at a footpath near Banaras chowk, injuring 16 people. They were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, sources said. Enraged people took the streets and started pelting stones at moving vehicles.
The third explosion ripped through a mini truck in North Nazimabad area of Shahra-e-Noor Jehan near Sohail mosque. Five persons were injured, police sources said. However, Chhipa sources said 8 persons were taken to hospital. There are reports of the fourth blast in Hyderi area near a children’s school. Police mobiles have reached the blasts’s sites while ambulances are shifting the injured to local hospitals. The fifth blast occurred here in a motor cycle in Qasba colony area, killing one person.
A policeman was injured in the sixth blast in a bicycle in Manghopir. Two blasts also occurred in Pak colony in which 7 persons are reported injured. Police has not come up with any statement confirming the above blasts. Police and Rangers have been put on high alert in the city following the series of blasts.
How long will these murderous attacks on innocent Pakistanis continue? There can be no excuse for them. No justifications. No bahana-baazi. These terrorist acts are calculated moves to purposely spread fear and terror. These are clearly a war on Pakistan. A war on Pakistanis. A war on human decency.
Yesterday, after Islamabad’s blast we had written about a friend who survived the ghastly and cowardly attack on innocent people and had written this in an email (to Owais):
Today my belief in Allah’s power and what we call qismat(fate) was re-enforced. One of the things I learned while in overseas (i.e. to stop when a traffic police man tells me to stop) literally saved my life.I was on the other side of the road trying to make a uturn when the suicide bomber hit the policemen in Melody chowk today. If I had not stopped because a traffic policeman signaled me to stop and tell me that I cant make a U-turn, I would literally have been less the 5 feet from the suicide bomber. Luckily I stopped and being on the other side of the double road it placed a distance of around 20 feet between my car and the bomber. Somehow I was lucky enough to only have minor cuts and bruises while some really sharp pieces of metal landed inside my car and completely missed me.
It was one of the most un-nerving experience of my life since Ojhri Camp and also one of the saddest. I would really hope such events would stop in our country and as I fail to see what they achieve except for killing many innocent.
Our friend was extra lucky but for how long will Pakistanis continue to pickup ‘laashe’ of their unlucky loved ones?
This madness, brutality and violence must stop NOW !
Reference: Detailed news of Islamabad’s tragedy here.
One party that benefits from PPP/MQM/ANP rift is Nawaz league which is feeling pretty left out these days. Nawaz league also has ties with Taliban, in fact Taliban patriarch Maulana Samiula Haq was one of the first to meet Nawaz Sharif after his party’s elections victory.
While everyone is still contemplating reasons and perpetrators behind those blasts, Nawaz League’s Rana Sanuallah in his press conference has squarely placed blame today on action in Khyber Agency. How do they know?
Note that there have been almost no bombings in Punjab. Even the two in Lahore in the past at FIA building and other on Naval College were on federal agency and military and not on Punjab government installations. It seems whoever is blowing us up is trying to stir trouble for centre and PPP/ANP/MQM alliance but is buddy buddy with government in Punjab.
Add to this the fact that politicians form Punjab have a long history of using religious powers towards their own means specially in brining down or putting pressure on central governments and keeping other provinces in line. It comes so naturally to them…almost text book. Its no coincidence that both Jamaat-e-Islami (who were once strong in Karachi) and Wafaqul Madarass (the main madrassa organization to which extremists like lal masjid are connected) have their HQs based in Punjab. Nawaz is not happy with MQM as MQM has its own independent mind not in sync with Nawaz as Jamaat-e-Islami would be. A recent report says that Punjab University administration has lodged many FIRs against Islami Jamait-e-Talab ghundays but no action has been taken on them by Police. 12 May is just an excuse for Nawaz to legitimise his resentment for MQM, Shehbaz has killed many more people in “police muqaablay” than MQM possibly could have on 12 May.
Nawaz is also not happy with ANP, another party with its own mind and would love Taliban to keep ANP in check for Nawaz league. Nawaz league’s Ch Nisar immediately held a press conference after Khyber operation began, condemning the very peaceful Khyber operation while he or Nawaz league did not shed a single false tear for people who were kidnapped or burned by Taliban. How much regard Nawaz league has for sanctity of law, human lives and citizen’s of other provinces is pretty obvious to us all and as soon as Nawaz league has got all the votes they could in both general and by-elections they have run away from judiciary issue like cat on fire. Nawaz league simply capitalised on a movement started by lawyers and supported by public…and now for them khail khatam pesa hazam..
I would say Nawaz league and Mullahs are trying to bring centre and provinces in line…as always. Whether they will succeed in this or it will back fire is open to speculation.
Yes, the question to ask is “Who benefits” from these murders. Obviously, the govt does not (not Musharraf, not Zardari not Sharif) because they look weak and incompetent. Obviously the USA does not benefit because these only increase hatred for the US. The other countries in teh region do not because the instability spreads to them. The ONLY people who benefit from these are the Taliban militants and fundamentalists. For them it serves multiple goals: they destabilize Pakistan (which has been there goal for ever), they kill Pakistanis (who these fundamentalists do not believe to be Muslims, and they increase anti-US sentiments and bring anarchy (plus some fo these fanatics think that killing innocent Muslims is what will take them to jannat).
So, it is clear that the only people who benefit from these killings are the Taliban.
I did not mean to say that we should hold talks with terrorists. The govt. should apply its writ with firm hand and whoever comes in the way must be crushed. Madrassas should be banned immediately. there is no reason for them to exist. Every child of Pakistan must study the curriculum as prescribed by the govt. It is these madrassas which are responsible for 90% of suicide bombings. Thirdly, crime in the name of religion must not be tolerated. But who will do all this? There is complete lack of resolve in the political scene. About 2/3rd of the parties in the National Assembly actually do not want to fight the terrorism at all. Half of them will be actually too happy to ally with taliban to resurrect a saudi model in Pakistan if they were not afraid of America. Then please tell me how will PPP alone do it. They dont even have simple majority. It seems to me that all the political parties want complete inaction on all fronts ( who could reject the chance of curtailing president’s powers through the new amandment) so that the govt. (country ?) collapses and they could have a go at the pieces.
Dear All
All these acts are sadist acts but remember these all acts are well linked and beneficial to those sitting at the top. I always link incidents by benefit… who is getting benefit by killing innocents… spreading anarchy in Pakistan…
Definately by these incidents two things are possible… first license to kill those in Fata and no body will cry……… (similar to 9/11 when americans hav killed millions on same pretext)
Secondly will help them to prolong thier ruling time…
This world is not simple.. we r being brainwashed against the Islam in the name of extremism and fundamentalism..
Open ur eyes n think!
The reaction of some people to try to find scapegoats outside of Pakistan is sad because it shows that some of us are in denial. Maybe we in South Asia are like that, India is doing the same with the Kabul bombing. Anyhow, these blasts in Islamabad and Karachi are part of a string of killings and I agree that we have to first recognize that fact and that this is our own problem and then start confronting those who preach or talk of violence everywhere.
The suicide bombers have gone too far and the result is that people will no longer support their rhetoric. They have exposed themselves as being unislamic and enemies of Islam.
These terroristic attacks cannot be blamed on Americans & Indians as a ploy to destablize Pakistan. That is just nonesense and is the phobia which continues to cripple Pakistan.
Pakistanis are killing Pakistanis…since 1947! When will these blood thirsty mass murders realize that problems are not solved with violence. This nonesense will contine until Pakistanis join together to capture terrorists instead of supporting them and hiding them out. I believe that Pakistan is divided between those against terrorism and those who support their unnoble causes. People aren’t caring enough to do what they have to do to stop the terrorism..until it home and someone in their family is hurt or killed. Silence and turning a blind eye to evils that perhaps even your neighbor is doing will not help the problem but merely feeds the destabilization of Pakistan.
Good Pakistani people need to band together against the terrorists…enough is enough! It’s time to take the land back from these terrorists whose only goal is it to weaken & cripple Pakistan…physically, emotionally, politically & economically. Without the support of citizens making a strong stance against terrorism…this is exactly what these terrorists will continue to do and life in Pakistan will never change. Because of the disunity of the people, we are seeing more and more Good Pakistanis leaving Pakistan for elsewhere to not live in constant fear because they see little or no progress to stopping the constant violence and fear for their families. I have a feeling of hopelessness for Pakistan because it just seems like Pakistanis and the gov’t isn’t doing enough and the only responses to any problems from society within is more and more violence. The people cannot rally together for peaceful demonstrations without someones becoming violent, setting fires to public & personal property, or shooting innocent people.
It was a backlash to the what happened in Kabul before. It is very important that Pakistan gets out of this Musharraf-Phobia that they are in.
I have always told everyone Bugti was one of these people backed by the Americans/Indians who wanted to destabilize Pakistan and this operation was halted thanks to the army operation. However, his son has taken over the duties.
The attacks we see in Pakistan have an outside hand attached to them.
Musharraf as always playing his double game - no to put Pakistan under International Radar and at the same time making sure that all elements that are trying to destroy Pakistan including some in our politics don’t get out of hand.
Its time we stop criticizing the army of all ills. They are the only ones keeping us safe at the moment and what happened in Kabul was an ISI masterstroke.