Karachi massacre

Published March 9, 2013

KARACHI, the jugular vein and business hub of Pakistan, has been bleeding for over half a decade. Its citizens are being ruthlessly killed every day and no one knows by whom.

While the killing spree goes on unabated, the blame-game continues to be played by different groups against each other. Not a day passes without people getting killed in double digits. Every day the media reports heart-rending news about the ruthless murder of the people by some unknown killers.

A brief pause in the killings does bring some respite to the scared and grief-stricken people, but this is only for a very short span of time. Much to the shock and dismay of the people, the trigger-happy and merciless killers come back with vengeance of greater magnitude than before and brazenly perform their dastardly act.

The killings in Karachi have now acquired a new dimension. Earlier, the killings were considered more of sectarian in nature and partly linked to the extortion mafias in the embattled city. Later, the security personnel and strategic installations also became their target. Now bomb blasts and suicide bombing by killers have started taking a heavy toll on the people of Karachi.

The terrible mess that the business hub of the country is in has become a cause for serious concern for every Pakistani except for the rulers. They seem to be immune to the deteriorating law and order and economic situation that is making the city fall apart in all respects.

Killings of all sorts, such as targeted killings, sectarian killings, killings by extortionists, suicide bombings and bomb blasts, have created a sense of utter desperation not only among ordinary citizens but also in the business community.

It is being said that the business community of Karachi, in view of the extremely vulnerable law and order situation, has chosen to move its businesses to countries like Bangladesh, India and some countries of Central Asia. The fact that already a large number of industries have moved and several are on the point of moving to these countries and elsewhere should be a matter of grave concern for Pakistan.

Those who should be worried about the situation seem to be the least concerned about whatever is happening in Karachi. They appear to be pre-occupied with political wheeling and dealing and serving their interests.

On the contrary, other segments of society, including the judiciary, are concerned about Karachi’s volatile situation and want the government to take immediate notice of the matter. Will they rise to the occasion and act before the city is turned into rubble?

M. FAZAL ELAHI Islamabad

Devastated homes

THE twin blasts in Abbas Town, Karachi, have left over 200 people dead and injured. Along with the loss of human lives, the sense of losing a sanctuary is excruciating. One’s home is one’s safe place, a safe haven, a refuge, and the loss of all this is no less than a trauma for a person.

It takes an entire life for a person to be able to get a shelter and then one night, all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, his whole world is turned upside down, pieces of his life strewn all over the street.

This pain is beyond one’s comprehension.

However, one shares the pain with them, this cannot be a substitute for what they have lost.

But has their pain been shared? Haven’t we all been witnessing Shia community surviving one blow after the other? We all saw how ‘quickly’ help reached them and, on top of everything, the already traumatised people had to face the unbearable shock of their homes being turned into wreckage.

Isn’t it time we thought where we are headed for as a nation? It could have been any of us instead of them. Although we cannot heal their wounds and rub off what has been carved on their minds forever, but at least we can wipe their tears and show our solidarity with them in their hour of need.

I request the authorities and the people as well to come forward and lend a helping hand to the survivors to give them some semblance of security and to provide the nation with a hope that humanity still exists.

MARIHA GHAZAL Karachi

Killings

THE armed forces are defending the constitution but have failed to protect innocent civilians being killed by terrorists without any fear, or maybe the killers are under their protection.

KHAN A. SHAMSHAD Karachi

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