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).
I know people are quite rightly blaming MQM but please do not overlook the powers who urged them to spring into action. Their should be no doubt that Musharraf, having failed to restrain the CJ by any other means , asked Altaf to ‘fix’ the situation by putting an end to these High court bar receptions and the allied political shows. He is openly saying that these rallies will no longer be tolerated. MQM were allowed to take TV stations off air last week, a totally unlawful step that would be totally unthinkable in any civilised society.
The casualties being reported are, 11 Pathans, 9 Punjabis and 9 Muhajirs. By playing the MQM card to fix the movement, Musharraf has now turned this into an ethnic issue. I hope Pakistan Army’s rank and file have noted this. A seving army chief should not be allowed to burn the ethnic fibre of the country in order to perpetuate his own rule.
Please read the an article on MQM from following blog
http://kashifhafeez.com/mazameen_large.php?path=20 07-05-10&img=kh_articles/large/2007-05-10.gif
I pray and hope that a JUST Government erases all the political parties especially which are led and fuelled by students all over karachi. MQM has infected karachi (the most vibrant city of Pakistan) like AIDS. May ALLAH unite all the Pakistani’s as one Nation not as people with different fake identities. All of these leaders especially Altaf Hussain, Pervaiz Musharaf may be held responsible for their inhuman actions against karachites.
Altaf Hussain, is still being funded by foolish people living all over pakistan and he is living in england…
I request the editorial Staff at ATP that they may form some kind of petition and forward it to all websites/blogs/newspapers so that people can sign to show that we don’t want Altaf Hussain and MQM in Pakistan.
May ALLAH give SABAR to the families of victims – AMEN
Mutahir
ايک پاکستانی کوآج کراچی ميں بÛ
The game is so obvious for all to see. MQM violence is to provide pretext for Mushy to declare state of emergency and suppress all opposition. What are you going to do?