The burning of Islamabad
By Huma Khawar
OCTOBER 7th was an unusual day in the capital’s history. Following the funeral prayers of the slain Maulana Azam Tariq, chief of the defunct Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, an angry mob of mourners went on a rampage on the streets of Islamabad, destroying public property and setting buildings on fire
Although heavy contingents of police and paramilitary troops were deployed in the vicinity of Parliament House, in anticipation of trouble to come, soon after the funeral prayers, as the body of the slain MNA was airlifted to Jhang, police left the area giving an open hand to the firebrands who went on a rampage.
The rampage started around 8.30am as enraged mobs, brandishing sticks and firearms, charged through the Capital’s main business centers — Melody and Aabpara. Firing in the air, carrying batons they marched towards Lal Masjid, attacking private cars and breaking and destroying whatever came in their swath. They smashed traffic signals and pelted stones on the buildings, ransacked Food Park, a petrol pump and an Imam Bargagh.
Although the buildings damaged included Ministry of Religious Affairs, General Post Office, National Bank, Muslim Commercial Bank, National Saving Center and Food Park, the newly renovated Melody Cinema was the worst hit.
The much talked about cinema, which had been recently renovated sipping millions of rupees to refurbish, itself quickly engulfed in smoke as the mob doused its lobby and doors with petrol. The tall structure was ablaze in a jiffy. An employee of the cinema trapped inside the building died of asphyxiation, while a number of people managed to escape with minor injuries.
Fortunately though, it was morning and there was no show on, otherwise the casualties would have been unimaginable. The Islooites were anxiously awaiting the completion of the cinema as it was being equipped with the latest state of the art technology. The owner was in the process of arranging latest English and Urdu movies and it was felt that once complete it would start pulling the Islooites back to theatre. The cinema has been totally gutted and all that is left of the building are its charred walls.
Following the rampage, the traders of the Aabpara market took out a procession demanding compensation for the damages caused to their businesses. They held police and administration responsible for the destruction and alleged that the police remained “silent spectators” while the mob ransacked the private and public property.
Of course the mob had no love lost as for the people within it, entertainment is haram for them. The police kept a lenient attitude. They neither discouraged the attackers nor made any effort to prevent the mob. United we stand, they justified their position by saying that they did not expect such “extreme reaction”. One wonders what is the level of “extreme reaction” in the eyes of the authorities? Why did the police allow the crowd to go berserk and damage private property?
It is the prime responsibility of a government to protect the life and property of every citizen. It is the tax payers’ money that pays for the salaries of the police force. But when it comes to returns, or performance of their duties, citizens are left at the mercy of terrorists.
CLOSEST TO THE DESTINATION
NAJAM Shiraz started the show with his Hamd, singing live to an enthusiastic crowd at a glittering media infotainment event, dedicated to Polio Eradication Initiative, Polio-free Pakistan: Closest to the Destination, organized by the National Institute of Health. Followed by Najam, Waris Baig, Fareeha Parvaiz and Jawaad Ahmed enthralled the audience seated in the beautiful (and sparsely used) auditorium of NIC building in Blue Area.
In its second phase of campaign, eminent personalities from different fields have been entrusted the task of Polio Ambassadors, including actors, singers, religious leaders, social workers and parliamentarians, to use their influence and charm to eradicate polio from the country.
The show was termed as a ‘novel communication strategy’, by Raheela Yahya, Parliamentary Secretary of Health who declared popular TV artistes, politicians and social workers as polio ambassadors by presenting them Memorandum of Understanding. Besides Abdus Sattar Edhi, eminent personalities included Shafi Mohammad, Saania Saeed, Senator Roshan Khursheed Barocha, journalist Rahimullah Yousafzai, Hakim Syed Saharanpuri, Asiya Azeem, MNA Qari Roohullah Madni and Dr Moizuddin. They are amongst the Polio Ambassadors of 2004. The audience gave a standing ovation when the name of the larger than life figure of Edhi was called, who was unable to attend the event.
Dr Khalif Bile, the World Health Organization representative hoped that Pakistan would become the first country to be declared polio free among the three most endemic countries, the other two being Nigeria with 116 cases and India with 130 cases. This he said “should happen sooner than late next year,” as Pakistan was able to contain the disease to the level of 72 cases. Unicef Representative Omar Abidi reminded the nazims and religious leaders of their critical role while Dr Rehan Hafeez, Manager Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) stressed the critical role of parents who he said were “the most important partners of the campaign.”
The immense success against polio will prove that we can launch a crusade against other diseases as well such as hepatitis and HIV/AIDS, devotion and commitment, being the only two requirements.
|
