Series of Blasts in Karachi follow Islamabad’s Attack: Enough… Violence Must Stop Now!

Owais Mughal and Adil Najam

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.