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).
Well speaking of Aaj, it seems that Dawn is coming out with an English channel of its own. Wonder how that will shake things up.
It seems like a very calculated move by Musharraf and the butcher Altaf. The move seems to be taken directly from Zia’s book of dirty tricks. Altaf has probably sensed weakening of its support in the masses after being in power for all this time and not delivering anything to the people. So Altaf goes back to the ways that made him and his bunch of terrorists successful in the early days. Having grown up in Karachi, I would not be surprised if he still pulls it off.
I was present at a huge rally mainly lead by ANP and PPP. The rally was entirely peaceful until the police (directed by MQM Govt.) refused to let them move towards the airport and started firing bullets and tear gas.
The whole Govt. Machinery was used to make MQM rally a success and that of opposition a failure.
What was the reason for MQM to hold a rally on the very same day!!!! CJ’s visit was announced much earlier and this too is irrelevant since MQM’s Wassim Akhtar had said on ARY TV that his party would hold a rally each day CJ and opposition decide to come to Karachi! So MQM themselves were and are looking for a confrontation!
I tell you what…MQM along with Musharraf are really scared about the support CJ is getting and
I had always been a strong supporter of MQM but this time they are “on” the wrong side!!
Down with Imperialism
Down with dictatorship
[quote comment=”47015″][quote comment=”47013″]Now that everyone else is hating MQM, MQM needs the General even more. The General now has MQM where he wants.[/quote]
very interesting,
and i guess no more united opposition either.
Imran Khan and co stranded.[/quote]
This indeed very true…
Good comment
[quote comment=”47142″]Salamalikum,
How can the murderers sleep at night for killing the innocents and carrying out andadhun firing!
MQM has recruited many non-muhajirs to extend its popularity including pakhtoon and punjabis. And, it’s very surprising that these are the majority among MQM casualties.
Adnan has raised a serious issue. This Pathan-Muhajir thing can quickly get out hand and has potential to be long and deadly conflict. I was too young in 1986 to remember anything but I’ve heard horrible things about that time. May Allah help us all and guide us to correct understanding of Islam so that we can avoid such heinous actions, ameen.[/quote]
If you have not read any thing about it then you should along with Adnan…
At that time it was the other way around…
The riots were connected to military crackdown in Sohrab Goth, against heroin and weapons trafficking