Articles Of Syed Shahid Husain: Karachi Bomb Blast on 12 Rabiul Awwal

12^th Rabiul Awwal, which corresponded to 11th of April, was a dooms day for those who had the misfortune of being on that stage that day in Karachi. A rally organized at Nishtar Bagh to remember the holy Prophet was shattered with a huge explosion that wiped out virtually the entire Sunni Tehrik leadership. About 50 dead and many more seriously injured was the toll. Persons in authority made usual noises including the one that culprits will be apprehended and punished. Unremarkable urge of the government to beat the drums of victory before even the first step to find the culprits had been taken should surprise no one. Police pretended to go into overdrive to find out who done it and the military was deployed in the streets to leave no doubt in any body�s mind of the serious resolve of the rulers to control the situation. Things went back to being normal, which means life brought to a total halt for three days.

There was a new dimension though this time. Muttahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Jamaat e ilami (JI) took positions and blamed each other with unprecedented vehemence for the tragedy. The latter demanded an enquiry by �sensitive agencies� a euphemism for Military Intelligence or Inter Services Intelligence, more popularly known as ISI. MQM went so far as to demand ban on J I and claimed that there was no security lapse because it was the work of a suicide bomber, as if a suicide bomber is some one else�s responsibility and not the government�s. Clearance had been given to the organizers after �bomb disposal squad had conducted a thorough search of the park and the stage. Then how come, five Kgs of explosives found way into the place and underneath the stage?

The MQM spokesman confirmed that the explosives used were the same as had been used in the previous attacks at Haidri Mosque and Bagh Ali Raza, both in Karachi. If as alleged by Qazi Husain Ahmad that the explosion was triggered by a remote control, the spokesman sarcastically demanded of Qazi sahib to tell the nation who was holding the controls. He went on to allege that the JI had been harbouring terrorists who were arrested in the past from the houses of JI leaders while planning to carry out suicide attacks.

Hameedullah, an MMA MPA in Sindh Assembly blamed the government for its failure to maintain law and order. According to him about 100 people had been killed during first three months of this year. During 2005, 645 people had been kidnapped and 4,000 vehicles stolen. He noted contradiction in police versions saying within 15 minutes of the blast the Police chief declared it a suicide attack whereas the DIG believed it to be a planted bomb. Hafiz Idrees of JI while addressing a protest march in Lahore alleged that the incident was a heinous conspiracy against Islam and alleged that Musharraf was a patron of terrorists in Sindh, meaning thereby the MQM. Such cowardly acts, he said, should not stand in the way of �Mustafwi Revolution.�

Rumours are rife as to the causes of this repulsive mayhem. One retired civil servant living in Islamabad asserted with absolute certainty that this was the work of MQM in order to stem the rising popularity of Sunni Tehrik. He sought support for his hypothesis in the Sindh Governor being a criminal having been involved in the murder of Hakeem Said. A senior lawyer uncritically agreed. How much bigotry one sees on daily basis. Assertions substitute for evidence. But then there is no law against making assertions or jumping headlong to conclusions deriving from preconceived notions of bigotry.

Those blaming the MQM for the mayhem ignore the fact that the blast has at best embarrassed the party and at worst jeopardized its chances of staying in office. After all why should they risk their offices including those of Governor and Home Minister and a number of others, provincial and federal?

There was also a view among the chattering classes that the bombing was a conspiracy hatched by anti state elements (not named) bent upon triggering civil war. Then there is a view that the attack on innocent crowd of committed faithful celebrating the birthday of the holy Prophet was an attempt to destabilize the provincial government. All previous major attacks have taken place in Karachi. This may be a plausible explanation in view of JI demand for an enquiry not by a judge of the High Court/Supreme Court or the United Nations but through agencies amid claims that Musharraf was patronizing terrorists. MQM is institutionally hated by the military for their temerity to beat up a Major of intelligence outfit in early 90s. The military operation against the party launched on June 19 of that year by the then Chief of Army Staff, Asif Janjua was a collective punishment meted out to the second/third generation refugees living in Karachi. There was an open season on any one suspected to be a member of the party. That almost every Urdu was, in this case not the language but the speaker of the language.

Two are three dead bodies were discovered every day. And no investigation was held or any one punished. Be Nazir through her Interior Minister Naseerullah Babar, a retired general, vigorously pursued this policy of state repression. It was the darkest period for the people of Karachi. Use of mobile phones was banned. Horrendous tales of state terrorism were heard. An alternate MQM was created. Gen Asif Nawaz went on to say why cant there be more than one MQM when there are a number of other party factions? A large number of cases were registered against the entire leadership. They were on the run. Altaf Hussain saved his life by leaving the country. Any incident of arson or terrorism was blamed on them and FIR religiously registered. What happened to those FIRs one doesn�t know.

The present Chief of Army Staff fully shared the institutional hatred in equal measure when he was Director Military Operations. He may have found new evidence to change his views since. Or may be it is hypocritical use of principles. Things have changed. In order to keep the PPP from assuming power at least in the province of Sindh Ghulam Ishaq Khan/Jam Sadiq blueprint had to be dusted and used. One can�t have a government without MQM to coalesce with rump elements of other parties, mostly opportunists. So MQM has emerged as a necessity for the present Chief of Army Staff to stay in power. There is a strong suspicion that his institution does not share the newfound love of the COAS. It would like to see the back of MQM leadership. So there could perhaps be a motive on the part of rogue elements in the intelligence agencies to cause destabilization and have the provincial government dismissed.

Well all that is in the realm of speculation. What is important to consider is the monumental failure of the law and order agencies, both federal and provincial. The failure is as much of the intelligence agencies as of the police, the former for failing to preempt the attack and the latter for failing to take adequate measures to prevent such large quantity of explosive material, some say about 5Kgs, from entering the public arena and under the stage. The police was nowhere to be seen when this happened. Either they knew that this is going to happen or they abdicated their responsibilities. Such huge expenditure on the police is a total waste. Expenditure has gone on increasing from Rs.1b in 1987-88 in 14 years. In Sindh the expenditure in 2001-02 was more than Rs.7b as against Rs.3.7b on health and Rs.14 on education. National expenditure, combining the federal and the provincial, on law and order, in 2001-02 was Rs.36b having increased over the same period by 414%. And what do we get in return? Misery and mayhem. Whatever police we have is busy closing main roads to make it easy for the vulnerable rulers to swish past at neck break speed. They are a source of torture and turmoil to ordinary folks. People have died in transit on their way to hospitals.

This government�s gift to the people is unbridled power to the police. Magistracy having been consigned to the dustbin of history, they have been freed from all controls. Elected district Nazim cannot be trusted even to write their ACR. Therefore they are beholden to their remote seniors who do the bidding of the rulers at the expense and cost of common man.

It is the poverty that feeds violence. Communal or sectarian anger is only a manifestation of this underlying root cause. Since the priorities of the rulers are not the people but defence of sovereignty the present state of affairs would continue. Debt and defence accounted for $4.2b in 2001. Debt is also related to wasteful defence expenditure because if we were sensible in our choice of expenditure we won�t need to borrow. In a country with one of the worst public education-70% women and 41% men officially categorized as illiterate- and health care virtually non-existent, where there are no medicines even in the largest government hospital in Karachi named after the founder of the nation, we have to reap the harvest.

If the provincial government is dismissed together with MQM, it would be a repeat of the open season on the party members. Unfortunately the party has not done much for the common folks and has acquired an unsavoury reputation for militancy.

Syed Shahid Husain