A country in mourning
Pakistan Wednesday, February 10th, 2010Not by wrath does one kill, but by laughter.” (Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche) It was the blessed day of Friday and it was the Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (R.A.). We were celebrating our solidarity with the Kashmiris on “Kashmir Solidarity Day”, not to mention it was a national holiday.
The verdict of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was widely condemned in the country and President Zardari directed his government to provide legal support to Dr. Aafia. Security was beefed up in Karachi for Chehlum processions. Heavy police parties and ranger contingents comprising of 10,000 troops along with plain clothed rangers and intelligence agencies’ officials were deployed to make sure the blasts that occurred at Ashura does not happen again. Punjab Home Department unveiled that the terrorists once again may target the Parliament House. The Home Department had quoted intelligence sources as saying that an unidentified terrorist is already present in the federal capital, who could not gain access to the Parliament due to the poor security arrangements there. Foolproof security arrangements had been recommended for Lahore in the report, after which law enforcement agencies had been directed to spruce up the security arrangements. Both Punjab and Sindh were under serious threat. Then suddenly, a powerful explosion took place in a public vehicle plying on Sharah-e-Faisal of Karachi. The blast occurred in a mini bus near Nursery stop towards FTC. The dead and the injured included women and children. The dead and injured were being taken to Jinnah Hospital which started treating and documenting the dead and injured. The Shia Ulema were asking members of their community to remain calm and abstain from any actions that would constitute civil disobedience. Then suddenly, another powerful explosion was heard at the emergency ward of Jinnah Hospital, the very same hospital that was attending the dead and the injured from the previous explosion. A large number of relatives of the first blast victims were present at the time of second blast. Panic and fear gripped the hospital after the blast, in which paramedical staff and media persons were also affected.
A human tragedy was turned into a pool of opportunities and every person of influence wanted to get his foot in the pie. The public was yelling and screaming and moving from one hospital to another. The devil had two big laughs and was hilarious over how people lose their innocence in moments of extreme and genuine tragedy. His meticulous planning had worked most effectively, but there was more to come. More to come meant more laughter for the devil and more carnage and pain for the innocent. A bomb was planted in a TV set of Jinnah Hospital, which was identified by the security personnel present in the hospital. The panic of the people in the hospital knew no limits. A bomb disposal squad has been called to defuse the bomb. Lives were saved but damage done was done; people were given a clear message that their enemy can resort to any measure to kill and destroy them. The devil laughed the third time. There was a wicked sense of humour in this particular act by the devil. By now the dead were at least 30 and the injured were at least 50, most of whom were critical. Last but not least, first the City Nazim Mustapha Kamal, then Information Minister Kaira, and finally the President and the Prime Minister condemned the terrorist attack. This is a ritual that is followed after every terrorist attack in Pakistan and Pakistan was going through the usual motions. With the day’s carnage coming to an end it was time for ulterior motives.
What must be highlighted is that the MQM always considers a terrorist attack in its city as “an attack on Karachi, the citizens of Karachi particularly the Muhajirs”. The MQM must realize that Karachi is not solitary to Pakistan and neither is the Muhajir community. Karachi is as much a part of Pakistan as Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, or Islamabad; and the Muhajirs are our beloved brothers. But the MQM is notorious in giving ethnic colour to the attacks on Karachi and other parts of urban Sindh to draw money and attention towards itself and its representative community as symbols of persecution in Pakistan. The next day, Saturday, was followed by funerals for the dead including seven MQM workers whose death MQM leader Altaf Hussain especially condoled. Karachi was a city in mourning, with transport, shops, schools, universities and other institutions closed, and exams canceled. A city shut down, civil activities suspended and criminal investigations under way. This is another ritual Pakistan has gotten used to. Four suspects were presented at different courts, two FIRs were filed for the twin blasts and CCPO Karachi announced that the blasts were remote controlled. Life will move on after the Karachi blasts on Friday, it would be vain to keep track of progress during investigations as the criminal investigation system in Pakistan is slow, ineffective and inefficient. Meanwhile, the public can watch the CCTV footage on Geo and feel more terrorized while Geo TV celebrates its achievement of being the first channel to obtain the footage while other channels bite the dust and figure out more ways to create sensation in a lawless country gone mad and completely out of touch with God. Death and destruction have become tools and vehicles to make money. There is no value for human life in Pakistan, human sentiments are worthless. It puts me to shame to say anything anymore as even in everyday life the Pakistani people are so indifferent, insensitive, inconsiderate and downright callous that what difference preaching the bigger picture will make. There is a Rupee and a Dollar to be made in this country for every sin you commit. Is there light at the end of the tunnel? What should our belief system be? As a Muslim, if you are a believer then all you will say is “I have seen the devil laugh but I have never seen Allah turn his back.”
Shaima Sumaya
Short URL: http://www.daily.pk/?p=15839
on Feb 10 2010. Filed under