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| India-Pakistan |
| Karachi horror story |
| 2015-02-14 |
| [DAWN] APPROPRIATELY, the PPP announced its new partnership with the MQM just when we heard allegations of mass murder committed by thugs linked to the latter. Both now harbour large numbers of criminals at all levels. The widely held perception is that the new deal, brokered on the basis of a 60:40 division of power, will split the loot in a similar ratio. The growing criminalisation of politics in Sindh has made the accusations of arson by some elements of the MQM plausible. Even though it is based on the confession of a hit-man for the party, for those of us who have lived in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... these last 30 years, the allegation -- the first of its kind -- doesn't sound far-fetched. Even to a country long hardened to violence, the death of 258 men, women and kiddies in a Baldia factory fire in 2012 came as a shock. At the time, the official inquiry identified an electric short-circuit as the cause of the fire. But the JIT report flatly contradicts this finding and names elements in the MQM as being behind arson and mass murder. While we can all guess, the truth remains murky. The Sindh High Court, handed this hot potato, has directed the lower court to complete hearings and announce its verdict within a year. If it happens, it will probably set a record in a country where the judiciary is not renowned for the speed of its deliberations. These last three decades have witnessed a steady decline of security in Karachi. Unsurprisingly, this same period has also seen the rise of the MQM as a political force whose strength is based as much on the violence of its holy warrior wing as on the popularity of its leader. |
| Posted by:Fred |