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).
One thing which people didn’t discuss here and it’s happening in Karachi is Pathan-Mohajir clash. Today,most of the news I heard about clash were in pathan dominated areas like Qasba colony,orangi,pathan colony etc and it ahppeend all when MQM published pics of pathans “firing” on roads. Seriously, we can’t afford another “31st October” in Karachi.
The most pathetic thing was severe violence at FB Area water pump where mobs burnt several shops of bamboos and several other shops. Most of constructed roads have been damaged. Mustafa Kamal should go to London and kiss the hands of his peer for his magic[Karamat] which changed entire city into Beirut in few minutes.
I was reading on gEO, students of 9th class who are appearing in exams from 16th May have not got their admit cards yet. I can feel the pain as I also had gone painful moments in 94/95 when I was in college.
I look at the sad faces of the grieving relatives of the dead, and of the dead themselves, and find myself asking how cheap we have made the blood of the same youth who are descendants of those who fought for freedom from colonizers. These pictures could have been taken in Iraq or Beirut, or name your favorite Muslim hot spot for troble, and we would barely recognize a difference. We are wasting, killing, our precious generations on our own streets…Our future may be drowing in their blood,and fleeing from our country, if we don’t put an end to this madness.
http://bznotes.wordpress.com/2007/05/12/karachi-is -burning-a-political-and-security-crisis/
I share Zia’s sentiment: â€
Altaf and company doesn’t get tired saying that we are against “jageerdarana nizaam” of Pakistan. But what about the jageerdaar in London who is there for the past 17 years and enjoying luxuries!
Today I heard Dr. Farooq Sattar saying in the press conference that some some elements are trying to divide Karachi ethnically like 1986. I say it’s the MQM who first started it and they actually divided the Karachi ethnically otherwise before that we were living peacefully. People don’t have short memories and they still cannot forget “TV baicho Kalashinkov kharido”.
If you want to read about MQM history visit the following page on Federation of American Scientist website:
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/yearwise_de tail_mqm.htm
It has yearwise detail of MQM atrocities right from 1986 to 1998.
All happened under the nose of the Govt, I have a few logical questions based on my observations, I hope anyone can answer them:
1) How come the so called (un)known mis-chief makers managed to block the main Sharah-e-Faisal at FTC, Aisha Bawani and Gora Qabristain with long axle vehicles(Buses Tankers and Trucks) and made all the tires deflated right under the nose of the Saddar Police Station (which is opposite Gora Qabristan)? Probably they got a little too much at that night……..!
2) Why the blockings were not removed on time to un-block the main artery of the city, which also leads to the biggest hospital in Karachi? I pray someone could stage the same while Mushy or Shuaki comes to Karachi.
3) Why the police and rangers took no step to stop the clashes (reference point FTC, Police is under 100 meters while rangers were 200 meters away from the flashpoint?
Perhaps they were waiting for Mushy to come so they can remove the baricades.
4) Why Aaj TV did not zoom-in to capture the number plates of the vehicles used by the shooters and got the ammo from?Purpose to track down the culprits……?
5) When Aaj TV’s office was under attack why the required protection was not sent in?
6) Who has censored the newspapers and media not to report the events in their right and full context? Hiding the facts (Shahadats/witnesses) is also a sin.
Many more questions but lets only focus on these.
Excellent analysis. Good journalism. Worth seeing. Follow the ‘black car’:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=METr2vAtObs