Israeli atrocities

Latest Israeli raids on two refugee camps in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Sunday, which left 14 Palestinians dead, underscore the need for the world community to restrain Tel Aviv. The raids were carried out after an attempted suicide attack on a border check post in northern Gaza in which seven Palestinians and no Israelis were killed.

Among the dead in Israeli raids were three Palestinian boys aged eight, 12 and 15. This once again shows the extent of the brute force Mr Ariel Sharon resorts to against the Palestinians who, ironical as it is, are condemned to living in refugee camps on their own territory.

This, while illegal Jewish settlements in occupied territories continue to expand at an alarming rate despite the fact that the roadmap unveiled by President George Bush last April called for a halt to all settlements activity.

Not only that: the roadmap, prepared by the Quartet - the US, EU, Russia and the UN - called for disbanding settlements which were established after March 2001. The Israelis and the Palestinians both have accepted the roadmap in principle, yet illegal settlements in occupied territories show no signs of a scale-back. On the contrary, rights groups are shocked to note that last year alone saw a 35 per cent expansion in the existing settlements on occupied land.

The latest Israeli raids have come at time when the Israeli electorate is showing signs of fatigue over Mr Sharon's bellicose posture towards the Palestinians.

None of his provocative and expansionist measures - the fence being constructed around the West Bank and Al Quds being but only one example - has given the Israelis the security they want. The desperate attempts by Palestinian militants in the form of suicide attacks have continued to make life a high-risk reality that the vast majority of Israelis could well do without.

It is this basic point that eludes the hard-line Likud leader's grasp as he blindly pursues his expansionist vision of an Israel built on as much of the occupied Palestinian territory as it can get away with.

No wonder, the focus of this policy in recent months has been on the expansion of Jewish settlements and on the construction of the controversial fence the UN has challenged in the International Court of Justice.

While President Yasser Arafat has called the fence the "Berlin Wall of the Middle East", Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei has termed it the "wall of apartheid" which aims at turning the occupied territories into cantons and bantustans.

Mr Sharon has been emboldened in his endeavours because he knows that the US is least likely to restrain him in an election year. But this does not explain the silence adopted by the EU and Russia, the two other members of the Quartet whose roadmap Mr Sharon is openly confounding.

The EU, with Britain's foreign secretary as its spokesman, has actively campaigned against the ICJ hearing the fence case, calling it a bilateral dispute to be resolved by the Palestinians and the Israelis. This is where Israel's patrons are wrong.

Widespread human rights abuses, the wholesale killings of the Palestinians, illegal occupation of their lands and the destruction of their homes and orchards cannot be termed a bilateral issue.

They are a blot on the face of humanity and call for a concerted effort on the part of the world community, especially those states which show so much concern for human rights violations elsewhere.

Karachi violence

Violence in parts of Karachi in the aftermath of the murder of PPP MPA Abdullah Murad Baloch has left three people dead, a dozen seriously injured and property worth a good amount damaged.

Acts of lawlessness witnessed in Lyari, Malir and some other tertiary areas of the city on Monday have been appalling, and point to the failure of the authorities concerned to ensure public safety and order. During the past three days, protesters have blocked the National and Super Highways and the main rail line connecting the city with much of the country for hours.

Admittedly, the sharp exchange of accusations and inflammatory rhetoric between the PPP and the Muttahida has served only to worsen the situation. There has been a delay in the registration of the FIR, which has fuelled some people's anger, but that can never be a justification for murder and other acts of lawlessness.

Who is behind which murders is for the police to investigate and for the courts to decide. The authorities must spring to action to prevent any further violence.

There is a theory in certain quarters that the MPA's assassination was related to the murder of two little girls in Gadap - the MPA's constituency - a week earlier.

Mr Murad Baloch had reportedly told colleagues that some elements were out to get him because of his role in getting an FIR registered against some policemen allegedly involved in the crime. Likewise, supporters of the rival political party now say that Monday's killing of three persons belonging to their cadres was in revenge for the MPA's murder.

Unchecked, this exchange of name-calling could worsen matters even further and make investigations difficult. Leaders of both parties should realize their responsibility and stop issuing provocative statements.

A judicial inquiry has been ordered, and all sides should wait for its findings and for the case to go before a court. Meanwhile, the Sindh government must do all it can to ensure an impartial inquiry and to prevent acts of lawlessness.

Cricket fever

The trouble caused over the weekend at Karachi's National Stadium when thousands of eager fans turned up to buy tickets for the coming one-day international between Pakistan and Indiadidn't mark a particularly auspicious start to what promises to be a memorable series.

One can only wonder why the Pakistan Cricket Board did not anticipate the huge public demand for tickets and why better arrangements were not made in this regard. The pandemonium that occurred after the premature suspension of ticket sales on Sunday resulted in a police lathi charge, which was most unfortunate.

Considering that the series against India would be the most financially lucrative venture undertaken by the PCB, with over Rs 100 million being generated from ticket sales alone, cricket fans have a right to expect better arrangements and greater understanding, and one hopes that the confusion over the ticket sales will not be reflected in other areas.

While the PCB has rightly focused on the security of the teams playing in the series, it has to ensure that the whole process of ticket sales and seating on the day of the match is done in a proper manner.

The overall condition of the stadiums, especially the National Stadium at Karachi, needs to be reviewed. Efforts should also be made to ensure that there are no gatecrashers or free-loaders and only genuine ticket holders gain entry.

Also, local associations with the necessary expertise need to be included in planning for the series. Saturday's clash in Karachi signals the return of the city to playing host to a major cricket fixture after a gap of several years.

Let us hope that this match - and the series overall - will be remembered for all the right reasons and will contribute to strengthening the process of detente between Pakistan and India.