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| Despicable and mysterious |
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Thursday, April 10, 2008
Karachi has suddenly, and almost mysteriously, flared up into serious and widespread arson, violence, death and destruction with at least seven people killed, dozens of cars, buses and offices set on fire, roads jammed with scared citizens stuck in traffic, markets and petrol pumps all over the city shut down. Coming soon after the despicable incidents of the beating up of Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim and Dr Sher Afgan, and the decision of pro-Musharraf political parties to get together against the PPP-PML-N alliance, the scale and speed of the violence baffles the mind. The violence brought back terrible memories of the fateful day of May 12, 2007 when the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was not allowed to come out of the Karachi Airport and over 40 people were killed in clashes. Yesterday's flare-up was triggered presumably by a clash on the city courts premises where some MQM lawyers were allegedly attacked and injured. The incident could have been linked to the beating of Dr Sher Afgan in Lahore. The MQM blamed the anti-Musharraf lawyers of attacking their peaceful protest rally but the lawyers' and PPP leaders termed the events a grand conspiracy to create a rift between the PPP and the MQM to derail the new democratic process.
Earlier, another blot on Pakistani politics had appeared when Tuesday evening in Lahore saw a mob pummelling, pulling, kicking and otherwise humiliating former minister for parliamentary affairs Dr Sher Afgan Niazi. Coming only a day after almost equally unruly scenes at the Sindh Assembly, it suggested a regrettable descent into uncivilized behaviour. Of course, it is easy to read conspiracies into these events. Certainly, the possibility of events being stage-managed has been raised, especially given the almost eerie similarities between what happened in Karachi and then Lahore. It, after all, takes little to provoke angered and frustrated people against those whom they regard as oppressors and, for some, all members of the previous regime fall into this category. Lawyers' leaders have already alleged that agencies were involved in the incident and have also asked why police failed to take command of the situation. But this can be no excuse for what happened. Those who have so far been regarded as heroes by civil society must beware of the tendency that similar movements could turn into mobs. It would be sad if a truly genuine movement for rule of law and supremacy of the constitution was marred by such incidents destroying the norms of decency. There is as such an urgent need to take command of the situation, before it is too late. Lawyers, political parties and other democratic forces must take steps in this regard. All these groups need to ensure that there are no further episodes of this nature, for they serve only to weaken democracy, and by doing so add to the many dangers that Pakistan currently faces as it begins its journey to what many hope will be a new future.
Some questions must, however, be answered. One is the strange absence of any administrative authority in Karachi (to stop uninvited people coming into the Sindh Assembly) and Lahore, where police and authorities had hours to mobilize themselves and mount a rescue operation to release Dr Afgan and other hostages. Why did it become necessary for Aitzaz Ahsan to intervene? Why did police not use force when no party or group had owned the siege? Why were large parts of Karachi engulfed in flames after a minor clash between lawyers? Whose interests are being served by this chain of tragic events and who is the target? Likewise everyone must see who, if anyone, is benefiting from the turmoil.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
