In the history of Pakistan, May 12, 2007 will go down as one of its darkest days.For that is when peaceful protestors exercising their constitutional right to freedom of movementin Karachi were ambushed by suspected members of MQM, a coalition partner in both the government of Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital, and the federal government.The Police and Rangers stood by as the Opposition was ambushed by pre-positioned terrorists on bridges overlooking the road to the airport. Television filmed men in pools of blood, slowly dying before the cameras even while ambulances were being shot at.
This was not the first time that a rally was disrupted. Earlier in 2005, when Opposition leader Senator Zardari returned to Pakistan, thousands of people were arrested, baton-chargedand tear-gassed; while railways, buses and cars were stopped or impounded. No one took notice then. The neglect to take notice simply emboldened the supporters of state terrorism who let loose destruction in Karachi. Unless notice is taken now, the risk is that terrorists will slowly take over different parts of the country.
Indeed different parts of the country already appear to have been parceled out to different mafias, terrorists, thugs and hoodlums. The tribal areas have been conceded to the pro-Taliban forces with whom the regime signed a peace treaty. In areas of Frontier province different groups of militants control Tank, Bannu andMalakand.
Part of the capital Islamabad is under the shadow of the extremists led by the Red Mosque cleric. They have grabbed state land and kidnapped citizens, including policemen, with impunity. They patrol some streets at night intimidating women while threatening barbers, beauticians and those belonging to the entertainment industry. The police once again stand as bystanders.
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The question that is being asked is: Why and on whose orders the Karachi Police were largely disarmed on May 12, 2007?Unless the judiciary asks this question, the danger is that much worse could happen the next time round for terrorists are encouraged when the state fails to act against them. Already, it is said that the Karachi killings were a preview of what could happen in the general elections scheduled for later this year. It is obvious that a regime which was born of illegality can resort to every illegal means to cling onto power.
For the first time in Pakistan's history, members of the higher Judiciary were not spared. When the court summoned theCorp Commander to seek his intervention in restoring law and order, he declined to attend on security grounds. Given the number of men of the armed forces the Corp Commander has under his command, it is surprising thathe felt that he could not attend to the court summons.
To those who had lived through the bitter days of insurgency in the former Pakistani city of Dacca, now capital of Bangladesh, the situation was an eerie echo of those days. Just prior to the the army operation of 1970, the armed group known asMukti Bahini had taken control of Dacca while citizens cowered in their homes.
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In Karachi, senior members of the Bar were forced to flee and take shelter. A part of the Baritself was set on fire. Undoubtedly, the constitutional machinery of government irretrievably broke down. The Inspector General Police is reported to have told the Judiciary that he was "helpless" to stop the bloodshed and mayhem which apparently had political cover and collusion.
Meanwhile two days later, a key witness in the proceedings against the suspended Chief Justice was murdered. Police said that the murdered man, the Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court, was a target of bandits andthat it was a robbery attempt. His widow rejected the police claims, stating that she saw police men standing in her lawn and when she cried out to them to help, they refused to come to her assistance.
Islamabad's slide towards anarchy and chaos can have both domestic and internationalrepercussions. General Musharaf is widely perceived as a key ally in the war against terrorism. However, he has been unable to stop the Taliban from regrouping in the tribal areas of Pakistan from where they carry out attacks on NATO troops in nearby Afghanistan nor has he been able to make the compromises necessary to secure a transition to democracy. Against the background of the recent domestic turmoil which includes an assassination attempt on the Interior Minister, the suspension of Pakistan's top judge and the murder and mayhem in Karachi, it appears that the domestic situation is fast slipping out of the General's hand. Whether this leads to the restoration of democracy or yet another emergency, one thing is certain: the political structure that General Musharaf and his men built on the edifice of the flawed elections of 2002 was a house of sand.
