"The first observation that I would like to make is this: you will no doubt agree with me that the first duty of a government is to maintain law and order, so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the state."

Then, "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste or creed. That has nothing to do with the business of the state."

Two statements made on August 11, 1947 by the only man of consequence to have ruled Pakistan, the founder, builder and maker of the state, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The others - the misrulers, breakers and dismantlers of the State of Pakistan - have continually maintained in the interests of expediency and self-perpetuation that "the notion of church and state as distinct institutions, each with its own laws, hierarchy and jurisdiction, is characteristically Christian and is alien to Islam" (Roedad Khan, Dawn, March 8).

President General Pervez Musharraf is now fighting terrorism 'across the border' whilst strictly ignoring terrorism within his borders. To take Karachi alone, working backwards to 1994, total killings atrtributed to terrorism are: 2002 = (10); 2001 = (107); 2000 = (84); 1999 = (85); 1998 = (667); 1997 = (396); 1996 = (166); 1995 = (1742); 1994 = (813). Of these, listed hereunder are the crimes comitted purely in the name of religion, specifically targeting Shias and Sunnis with each killing the other (name, FIR, police station):

Shias, 2002 - Syed Hasan Ali, 31/02, Gulshan-i-Iqbal; Jawwad Rizvi, 52/02, Darakshan; Sadiq Ali Humshery, February 3, 36/02, Kharadar; Syed Azad Zaidi, 47/02, New Karachi; Ramzan Ali, 38/02, Saddar; Dr Syed Rashid Mehdi, 53/02, Mominabad; Dr Alay Safdar Zaidi, 63/02, Gizri; Dr Muzaffar Ali Samoo, 63/02, Gizri.

Shias, 2001 - Syed Akhtar Imam Rizvi, 15/01, Orangi Extension; Mohammad Ali, 22/01, Orangi Extension; PC Abid Hussain Shah, DSP Sadiq Hussain Shah, 39/01, Al-Falah; Dr Zahid Hussain, 65/01, Orangi Extension; Anees Haider, 96/01, Soldier Bazaar; Shamim Raza, 118/01, Orangi Town; Moulana Athar Hussain Rizvi, 196/01, Korangi; Dr Raza Mehdi Jafarey, 173/01, Aziz Bhatti; Dr Asad Bukhari, 180/01, Saeedabad; Dr Muhammad Raza Peerani, 179/01, Soldier Bazaar; Mushtaq Haider, 163/01, Brigade; Shaukat Raza Mirza, 158/01, Frere; Zafar Hussain Zaidi, 57/01, Gulbahar; Syed Hamid Hussain Rizvi, 176/01, Clifton; Allama Syed Hasnain Naqvi, 100/01, Gulberg; Captain Altaf Hussain Bangash, 244/01, PIB; Allama Syed Razi Haider Najfi, Syed Abbas Ali, 161/01, Gizri; Muhammad Raza Mehdi, Ghulam Rasool, Gulzar Hussain,Waseem Saeed, Jabbar Talib, Faizan, 212/01, Mehmoodabad; Syed Gul Imam Shah, 291/01, Mominabad; PC Dildar Hussain Shah, 693/01, Gulshan-e-Iqbal; Advocate Ashiq Ali Abdullah, 156/01, Boat Basin; Syed Badar Naqvi, 298/01, New Karachi; Syed Hasan Abidi, 464/01, Korangi Industrial Area; Syed Shahid Ali, 302/01, Aziz Bhatti.

Shias, 2000 - Muzaffar Kirmani, Nazir Hussain, 36/00, Soldier Bazaar; Advocate Waqar Hussain Naqvi, 55/00, Bahadurabad; Syed Irsaad Hussain, Syed Iqbal Hussain Naqvi, 55/00, Bahadurabad; Dr Sibtain Dossa, Ali Nawaz, Arshad, 192/00, Kharadar; Advocate Syed Sardar Ali Jafri, 226/00, Gulshan-e-Iqbal; Afzal Hussain Shah, 124/00, Mochko; Dr Karamat Hussain, 252/00, Orangi Extension; Dr Mehtab Kazmi, 255/00, Orangi Extension; Dr Nayyar Hussain Zaidi, 320/00, Orangi Extension; Dr Nayyar Hussain Zaidi, 320/00, Orangi Extension; Niaz Hussain, 46/00, Mominabad; Muslim Hussain, Nasim Hussain, 405/00, Mominabad.

Shias, 1999 - Syed Ijaz Hussain Kazmi, Syed Zulfikar Anwaar Taqvi, Muhammad Nawaz, Syed Hasnain Naqvi, Syed Munawar Abbas Naqvi, Jamshed Abbas, Imtiaz Hussain, Nazeer Hussain, Amjad Hussain, Bashir Ahmad, 121/99, Al-Falah; Shaikh Abbas Haider, 53/99, Buffer Zone.

Shias, 1998 - Engineer Murtaza Adeebzada, Engineer Ali Adeebzada, 42/98, Frere; Syed Hasan Abid Jaffery, 112/98, Buffer Zone; Safar Ali Bangash, Rajab Ali Bangash, 136/98, Eidgah.

Shias, 1997 - Syed Ibne-Ali, 74/97, Mominabad; Dr Mansoor Hussain, 62/97, Orangi Town; Dr Anisul Hasan Rizvi, 129/97, Saeedabad; Dr Iqtidar Sajjid Naqvi, 220/97, Korangi; Dr Syed Jaffer Abbas Jafri, 300/97, Nazimabad; Dr Shakir Ali, 392/97, New Karachi; Syed Shamim Hussain Kazmi, 191/97, Liaquatabad; Abrar Ali, 445/97, Korangi; Syed Abbas Raza, 448/97, Korangi.

Shias, 1996 - Dr Pervaiz Akhtar Naqvi, 135/96, Saudabad.

Shias, 1995 - Fayyaz Hussain, 1/95, TPX; Syed Mujahid Ali Naqvi, 3/95, Khwaja Ajmeer; Dr Syed Alijah Jafri, 5/95, Gulshan-e-Iqbal; Moulana Hakim Baqar Hussain, Syed Abid Hussain, 15/95, Liaquatabad; Muhammad Razi, 15/95, Joharabad; Kashif, 42/95, Khwaja Ajmeer; Ghulam Abbas Hussain, Syed Sajjid Ali, Muneer Ahmad, 36/95, Jamshed Quarters; Muzafar Hussain Qazalbash, 6/95, Gulshan-e-Iqbal; Syed Fakhr-e-Alam Zaidi, 95/95, Khwaja Ajmeer; Syed Raza Abbas, Syed Akhtar Abbas, 97/95, Khwaja Ajmeer; Dr Muhammad Hussain, 37/95, Jamshed Quarters; Javed Abbas, Faraz Raza, Syed Muhammad Abbas Naqvi, 76/95, Gulberg; Abdullah, Khwaja Mushtaq, Muhammad Rashid, Nisar, Haider Hasan, Muhammad Ramzan, Asif Hussain, Muhammad Asif, Muhammad Ishaq, Muhammad Shakeel, Muhammad Mumtaz, Abdul Qayyum, 55/95, Liaquatabad; Syed Nayyab Haider, 40/95, Tamuria; Syed Gulzar Hussain Shah, 92/95, Khwaja Ajmeer; ASI Agha Masood Raza, Agha Masood Raza, 128/95, Khwaja Ajmeer; Agha Yasir Raza, Agha Asad Raza, 128/95, Gulberg; Dr Mehdi Hasan, 139/95, New Karachi; Hasan Asghar, Syed Safeer Raza, 138/95, Khwaja Ajmeer; Hameed Bhojani, Bashir Muhammad Taqi, S Bilgrami, Munir, Hujatul Islam Ayub Sabri, Sher Muhammad, Rajib Ali, Anwar Abbas, Hasan, Abbas Bashir, Ghulam Muhammad, Muhammad Ali, Safdar, 111/95, Ferozabad; Sarfaraz Hussain, Kamil Hussain, Baqar Hussain Haider Ali Mirza, Mujibul Hasan Jafri, Muhammad Hussain Baltistani, 85/95, New Town; Syed Javed Abbas, 324/95, Gulbahar; Muhammad Danish, 53/95, Buffer Zone; Sheer Muhammad, 243/95, Buffer Zone; Major Ali Aala Jafri, 122/95, Baloch Colony; Syed Mushtaq Hussain Rizvi, 108/95, Khwaja Ajmeer; Saadat Ali Shah, 122/95, Baloch Colony.

Shias, 1994 - Jameel Hussain Bangash, 63/94, Mominabad; Dr Nadeem Hasan Amrohvi, 133/94, Tamuria; Syed Anwar Imam Rizvi, 111/94, Orangi Town; Dr Kausar Ali Zaidi, 223/94, Khwaja Ajmeer; Habib Ali, 101/94, Brigade; Syed Adeel Raza Jafri, Syed Waqar Raza Jafri, 333/94, New Karachi; Tahir Hussain Naqvi, 144/94, Orangi Town; Dilawar Hussain, 153/94, Soldier Bazaar; Ghulam Abbas, 272/94, Liaquatabad; Syed Kausar Ali, Ali Abbas, Syed Munawar Hasnain Zaidi, Syed Hasan Abbas, Zafar Abbas, Syed Kamran Hussain Naqvi, 386/94, New Karachi; Dr Syed Zulfikar Haider, 438/94, Korangi; Muhammad Abbas Naqvi, 62/94, Kokhrapur; Syed Ashraf Ali Naqvi, Syed Jafir Raza Naqvi, 113/94, Sher Shah; Syed Muhammad Hasnain Rizvi, Syed Muhammad Mohsin Rizvi, 121/94, Saeedabad; Syed Amir Hussain Rizvi, 491/94, Korangi; Shaukat Ali Bhojani, 214/94, Soldier Bazaar; Syed Shamim Haider Naqvi, 223/94, Khwaja Ajmeer; Raja Aslam, Shakir Abbas, 242/94, Tamuria; Syed Imran Abbas Zaidi, 158/94, Saudabad; Syed Tauqeer Raza Zaidi, 257/94, Jamshed Quarters; Muhammad Ali, 601/94, Korangi; Kumail Abbas, Hamid Hussain, Muhammad Taqi Raza, Amir Raza, 255/94, Soldier Bazaar; Ghulam Muhammad Biltistani, 668/94, Korangi; Syed Nisar Ahmed, 698/94, Korangi Industrial Area; Sajjad Hussain Bangash, 585/94, Brigade; Ameer Haider, 245/94, Malir City; Zahid Iqbal, 400/94, Zaman Town; Anwar Ali Biltistani, 405/94, Zaman Town; Waris Ali Shah, 181/94, Sher Shah; Raza Abbas, 101/94, Khokrapur; Syed Azhar Abbas Rizvi, 492/94, Khwaja Ajmeer; Dr Muhammad Ali, 494/94, Khwaja Ajmeer; Ghulam Abbas, 101/94, Brigade; Asmat Hussain, Shabbir Ali, Muhammad Hussain, 254/94, Malir City; Dr Abul Qasim Jeeva, 328/94, Gulberg.

Total Shias killed: 177

Sunnis, 2002 - Maulana Sanaullah, 03/02, Surjani.

Sunnis, 2001 - Maulana Inayat, Maulana Hameed, Mufti Iqbal, Talha, Abdul Hameed, 11/01, Shah Faisal City; Maulana Saleem Qadri, Anis Qadri, Altaf Hussain, Abdi Baloch, P/C Hafeez Qadri, Ebrahim Qadri, Arshad, 73/01, Baldia; Dr Ishrat Hussain, 105/01, Sharah-i-Noor Jehan; Rizwan Miraj, 211/01, Nazimabad; Noor Muhammad, Moshinullah, Sadiq, 373/01, Azizabad; Dr Jameeluddin, 124/01, Rizvia; Dr Ubaidullah, 313/01, Gulshan-i-Iqbal; Umer Shah, Abdul Karim, Mohammad Riaz, Abdul Rasheed, 243/01, Buffer Zone; Hasan Zaidi, 244/01, North Nazimabad.

Sunnis, 2000 - Dr Javed Nizam, 101/00, TPX ; Dr Pir Bukhsh, 150/00, Orangi Extension; Dr Abdul Wahid, 146/00, Soldier Bazaar; Dr Athar Qureshi, 46/00, North Nazimabad.

Sunnis, 1997 - Maulana Habibullah Mukhtar, Maulana Mufti Abdul Sami, Muhammad Tahir, 354/97, Soldier Bazaar.

Sunnis, 1995 - Abdullah, Khwaja Mushtaq, Muhammad Rashid, Nisar, Haider Hasan, Muhammad Ramzan, Asif Hussain, Muhammad Asif, Muhammad Ishaq, Muhammad Shakeel, Muhammad Mumtaz, Abdul Qayyum, 55/95, Liaquatabad.

Sunnis, 1994 - Inam Elahi, Qari Saeedur Rehman, Qari Rasheedul Hasan, Abdul Rehman, Muhammad Zameer, Shoukat Kamal, Ejaz Arian, Abdul Majid, 671/94, Ferozabad.

Total Sunnis killed : 52

So much for Karachi. What are the figures for the rest of Pakistan? Such killings in the name of religion will continue as blind faith cannot reason. Musharraf heads a military government, yet he and we suffer opprobrium as he does not use it to advantage. The judiciary has shot down the establishment of military tribunals. Justifiable fear motivates their thinking. The democratic world, the US and UK, have adjusted their laws to deal with terrorists. The only counter to draconian acts are draconian measures. The general must put his foot down and keep it down - promulgate a PCO and establish military courts.