God Bless Karachi!

The year 2009 proved to be quite a deadly year for Pakistan, since the fight against Islamic militancy began eight years ago. Although the Pakistani military made some significant gains against the Pakistani Taliban in Malakand and the tribal regions, the fallout saw Islamic militants targeting not just the country’s security establishment, but also innocent civilians.
As Karachi began burying its dead, worrying questions were being raised about the arson that followed the attack on the Ashura procession. It was initially thought that enraged mourners and their sympathisers had gone on the rampage, torching commercial buildings, police stations and vehicles to vent their anger. Building after building was torched within minutes, and some feel this points to a terror campaign that was planned in advance and executed with precision shortly after the blast. Then, there are reports that chemical accelerants were used in setting the fires that kept the flames aglow long after.
The CCTV footage of the Karachi riots was eventually released to the media. The images showed several arsonists and rioters setting fire to cars and shops. According to the City District Government Karachi (CDGK), the visuals were also sent to the police and other law enforcement authorities so that action could be taken against them. In the footage, police and other security personnel were seen standing by, doing nothing, while miscreants were busy looting and rioting.
Reportedly, DIG South Mr Ghulam Nabi Memon heading the investigating unit probing the riots, said the police did not open fire to avoid collateral damage and negative fallout.
Investigations into the handling of the Ashura blast victims at Civil Hospital Karachi also revealed serious lapses, and has once again brought to light the many inadequacies the emergency section of the CHK has been facing for the past many years.
Though the ever-resilient Karachi again boasts of normality, the looming threat of terror haunts its inhabitants. Apparently, there is not even one area concerning its citizen’s security and welfare that is functioning appropriately. God bless Karachi! God bless Pakistan!.

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