March 08, 2013 .

With the senseless killings in Karachi getting out of hand, never before has the spectre of turmoil been so dispiriting. The conflagration prompted the COAS General Kayani to assure the civilian setup that the army stands ready to clean up the city -- if asked. The heavy toll in death that Karachi continues to pay has also led the Supreme Court to come to the conclusion that an operation is now necessary. The court was thoroughly disappointed with the job done by Rangers and senior police officials particularly over apprehending the perpetrators of the Abbass Town massacre.

In the ensuing fire, the political parties based in the province have been adding fuel to it. Patronisation of violence and turf wars is not a new phenomenon that Karachities have to bear; what happened the other day was an eerie reminder of the ways the ruthlessness of the sort has been hitting at the life of the city. From the swift albeit incredible manner the strike called by the MQM paralysed the city in a matter of minutes, its sway appears no longer to be in dispute. The call for the strike was withdrawn after a few hours following which things calmed down as though by magic. Obviously, with so much street power, the contention that the MQM has nothing to do with the ongoing mischief or that it cannot stop it seems quite invalid. But the smoke that invariably bellows from the arson attacks, ethnic bloodletting, strikes and bomb explosions represents a larger can of worms with other groups fighting on their respective fronts. It would not be entirely alright to point the finger of accusation in just one direction. As the intelligence agencies have been apprising the Supreme Court, a whole range of criminal groups, militant outfits and some religio-political elements have spread their tentacles around. That explains why the police, already plagued by politicisation has been a mere spectator. The Sindh government relieved the IG Sindh of his command but would that stop the cycle of killings. It is hence in the fitness of things to stomp on the plague responsible for unrest regardless of its political or religious affiliation.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik, however, exuded deep pessimism over the possibility of elections in view of the prevailing violence. If merely expressing remorse and making verbal assaults on the opposition is his job, he has got it down to a fine art; never mind the fact that his own laxity has a lot to do in taking things at this end. Whatever the remedy that Karachi needs to wriggle free from the unrelenting grip of the curse of bloodshed, it should be dispensed.

http://www.nation.com.pk

Raza Khan


As the ruling political leaders, political parties and civil armed forces have failed to control the law and order situation in Karachi, apparently the Army is all set to take security responsibilities in the city which is witnessing total chaos for the last many months. The total breakdown of the law and order apparatus in Karachi was evident from the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) of March 7, to remove the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh apart from all other key police officials including DIG East and SSP Malir.
The order by the SCP was issued while hearing a suo moto case regarding the Abbbas Town bombing, which claimed tens of lives, almost all from the Shiite sect. The likelihood of the Army takeover of the city has increased manifold after the SCP observation that the Sindh government had failed to protect the lives of the people and the utter failure of police and paramilitary Rangers to control the law and order situation and acts of terror. The SCP also remarked that an operation clean up had become inevitable in Karachi. In a belated development President Asif Ali Zardari chaired a meeting on Karachi which decided to give 'freehand' to the policy and Rangers to deal with the terrorists and criminals. This may delay the Army takeover of Karachi but the Army has finally to take the city over anyway as the police is largely politicized and, therefore, cannot be expected to take fair action.

However, it is not clear whether the Army once deputed to the city would conduct a military operation there or not.

According to reports, the decision regarding controlling the situation in Karachi was taken by the Army. Although it is premature to say what would be the consequences of the decision, if Army takes up law and order duties in the port city; but good or bad it will have repercussions. In the short run the Army takeover of Karachi may result in improved law and order situation. This is, indeed, necessary because without deputing Army personnel, elections would be well-nigh impossible in the city. However, in the long run the continued presence of the Army in Karachi would create problems and history is testimony to this fact. Therefore, in order for the Army takeover of the city to be effective, this should continue until the next government takeover after the next elections.

Although eruption of ethnic and sectarian violence is not new to the port city but this time round its impact has been devastating. Moreover, the present violence is going to have far reaching political repercussions as the existing national and provincial assemblies are about to complete their respective tenure in a couple of weeks and the elections have to be held in 60 days.
It is important to note that if the military takes over Karachi it should not be surprising. Moreover, the political parties, particularly the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), should not manipulate the situation, as Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah, has stated that the establishment was trying to discredit the PPP. Because it is the utter failure of the PPP-MQM-ANP coalition government in the province, which could not control the law and order situation in Karachi while there has been least interest on the part of all these parties to act decisively, especially if external forces have been involved. The MQM's leaving and rejoining of the Sindh and federal government umpteenth times, are cases in point. So if the ruling political parties remain indecisive for such a long time the creation of a political vacuum is a natural corollary, and this has to be filled by other actors even non-political entities. Therefore, the Army cannot be held responsible for trying to fill the political vacuum. Otherwise, if the situation is left to fester, the consequences for the country could be very pernicious. So the fragility and indecisiveness of the political actors has had a disasterous effect.

It is also important to note that the PPP and the ANP since long have demanded handing over of Karachi to the Army for carrying out operations there. Strangely, the PPP and the ANP on the one hand, and the MQM on the other, have been accusing each other of staging the violence. Of late, these parties have started blaming terrorist sectarian organizations like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) for the present mayhem and terrorism in the city. The sectarian terrorist groups definitely have their contribution to the law and order problems in Karachi.

On the basis of our sources in Karachi and elsewhere in Pakistan, we have disclosed several times and much before the ANP, the MQM and the Interior Minister came to the conclusion that the ruling coalition parties apart from their own internal problem have been the target of sectarian and terrorist groups operating in the name of Islam. The TTP which since long has assumed the shape of an insurgency, along with al-Qaeda has had a definitive strategy regarding Karachi. Under this strategy the TTP-al-Qaeda combine has been trying to foment unrest in the city by killing members of the rival ethnic parties including the MQM, representing the Urdu-speaking migrant community from India; the ANP, representing Pakhtuns from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), FATA and upper Balochistan and the PPP largely representing Sindhi and Baloch communities. This strategy of the insurgents has worked wonders for them as all these ethnic-based political parties in Karachi have accused each other for the killings of their members. This led to the destabilization of the whole country as Karachi is not only the largest Pakistani city but also the economic hub. Naturally instability and shutting down of businesses and port operations in the city lead to economic volatility in the entire country.

Moreover, al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban as part of their strategy have wanted to create chaos to take advantage of the situation. Karachi has been the biggest sanctuary for al-Qaeda, the Pakistani Taliban and Afghan Taliban commanders and fighters besides one of the main recruiting grounds for them. If one recalls, in 2010, the US FBI and Pakistani intelligence agents arrested a number of Afghan Taliban commanders from Karachi which included their No. 2 Mullah Abdul Ghani Biradar. The al-Qaeda leader Omar Saeed Sheikh, who killed American journalist Daniel Pearl, carried out the crime in Karachi in one of the many sleeper cells of the outfit. Apart from that, al-Qaeda and the TTP have also wanted to control Karachi so as to disturb the NATO supplies to Afghanistan of which almost all land at the two ports of the city.

Federal Interior Minister Rahman Malik has been pointing at the involvement of the LeJ and al-Qaeda, but he never divulged the entire strategy of these groups. The recent claims of Rahman Malik regarding the involvement of the LeJ in the violence in Karachi are quite substantive. He has also accused the Punjab government of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) of having struck a deal with the LeJ, that the latter would not conduct any terrorist attacks in the province and in return the PML-N government would not strike at the group's hideouts. These are, indeed, serious allegations to which the PML-N has not been able to respond satisfactorily. So if the violence and terrorism in Karachi as well as Quetta has to be addressed, this aspect of the problem has also to be meaningfully addressed. However having said this, the failure of the PPP-MQM-ANP to control the law and order situation in Karachi cannot be overlooked. Now the future of peace in Karachi depends on how the Army deals with the situation before and during the next elections.

http://www.weeklycuttingedge.com/economy02.htm

March 23, 2013 . 0

During the hearing of the Karachi law and order case, a report was submitted to the apex court containing the names and details of extortionists and target killers arrested since October 6, 2011 and wanted in 351 different cases of lawlessness. Not only that, this time around, the names of the groups and parties that they belong to have also been presented to the court which are Sunni Tehkrik, TTP, Lyari Gang, ANP, MQM, People's Aman Committee and Tehrik-e-Insaf. Quite a mess and quite a shame! The previous government successfully kept this report a secret; being one of the actors in the equation, it could have only done that. The Minister for Interior, who was invariably trying to master the art of how to save the Sindh coalition, hid under the cloak of ‘foreign hand’. For him, this hand was everywhere and involved in most incidents of violence.

The expose, however, confirms the long standing perception that major political parties based in the province have been fighting a turf war to take control of the country’s commercial hub. Of course, making the matters complicated are the TTP and other banned outfits fishing in Karachi’s troubled waters. An ordinary citizen or for that matter a beat policeman who roams the streets is well acquainted with this fact. These are after all the political parties that appear to dictate the fate of the city, although they say they are the saviours. Since no one has stood up against them over the years, they have grown bolder and bolder. It is hence a good omen that at least now the Supreme Court has been presented with evidence incriminating these parties. The court made the observation that the city would not be purged of arms mafia until and unless, new delimitations of constituencies were made. We can expect the apex court to ask the concerned agencies to do their job without fear or favour. A swift crackdown needs to be carried out since the parties who had prevented that from happening are out of power.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...-with-the-list

March 24, 2013 .

The message of the Supreme Court to responsible officials was clear on Friday: bring peace to the city. The court, hearing the Karachi unrest case, on Friday directed the Chief Secretary, the IGP and the DG Rangers, to produce a joint report over the no-go areas in the city, giving them 15 days for the task of clearing them. This is a message that should not have had to be made because no part of any city, or any country, should be restricted. However, in Karachi, where a report to the SC identified political parties as being behind armed militias, one of the primary requirements has been of no-go areas, where miscreants could seek refuge. As the law enforcing agencies cannot enter these areas, not only does the state lose its writ, but also the judiciary finds that it cannot enforce its jurisdiction in these areas. That the apex court will not abate its jurisdiction is proved by how it obliged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to carry out a fresh delimitation of Karachi’s national and provincial constituencies, despite the strenuous objections of one of the city’s political stakeholders.

The ECP has delimited three national and eight provincial seats, while MQM leader Altaf Hussain has vowed to challenge the delimitation in court, in a telephonic address from London. The delimitation was ordered by the Supreme Court, as a means to ensure that the people of the city got proper representation. Lack of such representation has also been seen as behind the lawlessness prevalent in the city. At the same time, there was much foot-dragging over the delimitation, and its taking place should also mean that no-go areas will be eliminated. While Mr Hussain did say in his address that there were no criminal elements in his party, that did not mean either that the other parties did not have them in their ranks, or that his unsupported word could be accepted.

The apex court seems to have zeroed in on the one factor that is at the heart of the unrest in Karachi. The law enforcing agencies perhaps better realize that, if they were free to enter any area, they would be able to combat more effectively the various elements that have made the city so risky for its inhabitants. The law enforcing agencies must now proceed to carry out the Supreme Court’s directions, which are for their own benefit.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...achi-imbroglio

Zahrah Nasir 0



Recent reports that the Taliban have become more visibly operative in the streets of Karachi are laughingly dismissed by some, angrily derided as pure invention by others and viewed, with the upmost concern, by those who have occasion to know the meat of the matter for, like it or not, this long ignored truth has come home to roost.

The price to be paid for rooting ‘it or them’ out - no easy matter now that they are firmly entrenched - will, undoubtedly, be both high and bloody, and - if allowed to fester further - could be well nigh impossible if, that is, it isn’t already.

It is also a shockingly bitter truth, especially for the blinkered idiots who continue, ridiculously in the face of accumulated evidence, to deny that the Taliban are Pakistani at all. That whilst this particular brand of ‘militant Islam’ may have started off as a primarily Pakistani-Afghan Pashtun movement, this for reasons best known to the criminally venturesome countries funding these blood-thirsty ‘warriors’ but possibly because they were and remain ‘highly vulnerable’, this is no longer the case as the ‘infection’ has spread way beyond any purely tribal or linguistic boundaries.

Its ranks are now occupied by a polyglot assortment of self-serving rogues and mercenaries recruited, via a variety of methods, from right around the world. This latter statement might - no doubt - be questioned. But it has long been known that the Taliban of ‘foreign’ origin are right there in the ranks too with Chechens, Russians, Uzbeks, Tajiks and nationals of Arab states, along with a smattering of British, Australian, German, Dutch and others being evident too.

To further underline this volatile mix of ‘international extremists’, one only has to consider the Syrian fiasco in which, according to the new information just made public by a Dutch source, nationals of the following countries are engaged in their own ‘Talibanised’ war against the Assad regime: Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Chechnya, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine, Russia, Somalia, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America and Yemen are known to be actively participating. And no, they are not, by any stretch of the imagination, all of either Syrian or Asian ancestry, but include an escalating number of Europeans as well. That, when given due consideration, should be the cause for extreme concern as - what the hell is going on?

Syria may sound, at first thought, to be a far and distant war that has no bearing whatsoever on the attempted Talibanisation of both Pakistan and its northern neighbour, Afghanistan. But, the only perceptible difference is that, so far at least, the Syrian imbroglio was primed by its instigators, who are anything but Syrian, for immediate explosion, while, for a variety of reasons, Pakistan and Afghanistan have been allowed a much longer fuse - possibly in the hope of the two countries losing their Asian tempers and turning on each other. Thus, ‘saving’ the foreign instigators standing on the sidelines, until they can claim both victors’ laurels and the profit that goes with them, without having to stretch themselves any more than they already have done.
This, by any account, is, at least in Afghanistan, now much further than they originally anticipated. To save face at ‘home’, therefore, they have mounted a much publicised ‘we are pulling out’ tamasha when, in real terms, they are doing nothing of the sort. But are organising the massive and extremely profitable environmental rape that has always been their target.

Where - you will be forgiven for asking - does the Karachi situation come into this?

It is quite simple, really: as long as the majority of the Pakistani populace persist in viewing the Taliban as a northern border ‘problem’ only, this movement to effectively topple central government - replacing it with rules and regulations of the Taliban’s own twisted invention - no way was the prospect of Talibanisation going to be taken seriously.

Hence, to hammer their point and agenda home, it was necessary to spread out and - aside from the ‘hit and run’ policies of suicide bombing - to force people to sit up, to pay attention and then, if they resist, to do what they are doing right now. That is to take Talibanisation to the streets and where better place than the mega-city of Karachi itself, the commercial and economic hub without which the rest of the country cannot function. The ‘taking’ of Karachi is, indeed, just one item on their backers’ extremely convoluted agenda.

An agenda not just for implementation in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but - as soon as feasible and no matter the bloodshed and cultural devastation - for the region: Central Asia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and, probably, Turkey being included somewhere along the line with, as a result, the drawing up of a completely new map. One based on profitable natural resources, including water and food production that will, in short, render us all totally subservient ‘slave-lands’ for the ‘Great Satan itself’ - the U.S. of A.

Orwellian as this no doubt reads - a decade or so down the line - it will, unless there is massive change ‘by the people, for the people’, this is exactly how it will be. And yes, getting back to Karachi, the current situation is simply another move in the modern ‘Great Game’ in which the Taliban too are, once they and their ilk have been used up, a disposable part. That - this must be stressed - does certainly not mean that they should be ignored. The country must eradicate these ‘foot soldiers of foreign hell’ before they, at their masters behest, eradicate ‘us’.

The writer is author of The Gun Tree: One Woman’s War (Oxford University Press, 2001) and lives in Bhurban. Email: zahrahnasir@hotmail.com

The principal of a private school belonging to the ANP was killed in Karachi on Saturday, and eight others wounded, when gunmen barged in on a result ceremony and fired on him. Though no group has claimed responsibility, the killers obviously wanted the school closed down. It seems that educationists in Karachi are soft targets; a college principal also was recently fell to the bullet of a sectarian fanatic. It also seems that the militants brought an animus against education from KPK. That province and its neighbouring tribal area have witnessed the bombing of a large number of girls’ schools. Apart from the murderous attack on Malala Yousafzai, there has been a girls’ school teacher murdered in the Khyber Agency, earlier this week.

How this has been allowed to happen by the caretaker Sindh government is not just a mystery, but a shame. It shows that the decline in law and order under the elected government persists, and even educationists are not safe. Worse, it demonstrates that militants are now doing in Karachi what they did not in KPK. There, at least, they did not fire on little children so casually as they did in Karachi. Indeed, they only blew up empty schools, and only attacked those they had targeted, as in Ms Yousafzai’s case, in which too some of her schoolmates were also wounded. It should not be forgotten that her father, like the principal in Karachi, was also an educationist active in the ANP

This shows that the province’s new IGP, who was appointed only the day before the attack, must concentrate his efforts on obtaining intelligence about the activities of militants. The provincial government is committed to the fair conduct of the polls and the militants are committed to disrupting them by attacking political gatherings. The attack on children must be treated as a precursor by the caretaker governments at both the provincial and federal levels. They must both buckle down to bringing peace to the city, rather than letting any other region infect it with its own brand of violence. If they cannot perform such a basic function as making their capital safe enough for polls, they will not be able to justify their holding office.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...ons/editorials

By:Ali Arqam

‘Terror tales’ revolve around the same stale rhetoric

In a session at Karachi Literary Festival (KLF) correspondents of foreign media outlets were questioned about their obsession with the terror tales and news on militant organizations known to the western audience. There were complaints about lack of coverage to the victims of violence and to the happenings in Karachi, where numbers of people killed years in politically-backed ethnic violence during last five are not less than those killed in the suicide attacks.

The questions had mixed responses from the panelists with pledges of future coverage at the end. But it came with keeping the discourse intact and still revolving around the terror tales. Specifically, how Taliban (apparently) have entered the city to disrupt law and order and bringing chaos to new heights.

To contextualize this, the rise of Taliban has been associated to the insurgencies and military operations in FATA and Malakand, and, as a result, Pakhtun migration to the outskirts of Karachi. Detailed accounts of their activities have been provided in these reports focused on these new Pashtun-dominated localities.

While these reports may not be overruled at all, we may point out some of the missing links in these reports. What these lack are a fundamental flaw in understanding the concept of Taliban. If by Taliban, one is only referring to hardcore militants of Pashtun-ethnic origins hailing from FATA and Malakand, then these reports are spot on about their presence at the outskirts of the city. But details about ambit of their activities have been over-inflated.

Their activities here are an extension to their feuds in their native areas. People of tribal areas due to kinships, tribal connections and similar businesses are associated with each other in Karachi. Disputes in family matters or financial dealings have been settled through influential people among them by comprising jirgas. The whole community can easily be kept in line from these centers of influence. The rise of militant groups has shifted the influence from tribal heads and powers have been delegated to the people backed by militant groups.

Among these all, Swat is an exception, where tribal hierarchy has not been that effective, which prevents Swatis from being under the militants control in Karachi, however individuals have been targeted for their political affiliations or being part of army-backed Aman committees in Swat. During recent years, scores of people hailing from Swat, Mohmand, Bajaur and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and ANP local officials living in the Pashtun-dominated areas of Karachi have been killed by these militant groups. Their attributes and avatars have helped them committing such acts successfully.

Among these, militants from TTP Swat Fazlullah faction and militants from TTP Mohmand, Umer Khalid and Ikramullah group are accused of most of the killings. While the Mohmand Taliban have been involved in collecting massive amounts as extortion money from their fellow tribesmen of Mohmand and Safi clans residing in Karachi.

These militants do not have the resources, skills and expertise to conduct specialized operations like attack on core commander Karachi, bombing Ashura processions, Abbas Town blast, kidnapping and killing of Daniel Pearl, killing MQM parliamentarians in areas of their influence, bank heists and more sophisticated operations like the Mehran base attack.

In his authoritative work, “Karachi in turmoil” on the genesis of turbulence in Karachi, journalist and researcher Ziaur Rehman has provided extensive details of various local and global Jihadi and sectarian militant groups in the city.

Investigations into all these terror incidents have revealed names of various militant groups like Jundullah and factions of Jesh-e-Muhammad (JeM), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Harkatul Mujahideen (HuM), Harkatul Jihadul Islami (HuJI) collectively using the broader term of Punjabi Taliban.

According to journalist, researcher and author of Shadow Wars, Arif Jamal, approximately half a million (500,000) militants have been trained by the state’s security apparatus in a bid to assist various Jihadi outfits in Kashmir and Afghanistan. A reasonable number of them hails from Karachi with almost all the ‘state-friendly’ Jihadi groups have their offices and recruitment centers in Karachi. After the fall of Kabul and changing circumstances on Kashmir front, the insurgencies in tribal regions, many among these trained and highly charged militants joined these militant factions.

These militant factions have their influence across the ethnic divide, which helps them in committing acts of violence against their adversaries and killing targets in almost every part of the city. One only needs to glance at the many bank heists, attacks on franchises of the cellular companies, targeting of CID officials, killings of Shia professionals, assassination of MQM MPAs from PS94 Raza Haider and MPA from PS94 Manzar Imam and kidnappings for ransom. It shows the scope of their activities and outreach in the city. Working under the umbrella of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan helps the militants in evading focus on the varying in nature of their activities. When journalists and researchers use these details in their writings, they only end up covering a small faction of militants while ignoring the most dangerous elements amongst them. This helps certain political parties directing attention towards particular ethnic groups who have already been on the receiving end of violence.

Ali Arqam is a journalist and researcher based in Karachi. He can be contacted at aliarqam@hotmail.com and interacted on Twitter at @aliarqam

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/columns/

April 06, 2013 1

The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered Rangers and the police to launch an operation starting today to eliminate ‘no-go’ areas from the Sindh metropolis. Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who presided over the proceedings, passed critical remarks against both the agencies saying that despite heavy budgetary allocation and full powers they could not deliver. He rejected reports by Rangers and the police filed separately on no-go areas, directing DG Rangers and IG Sindh to prepare a joint report clearly defining areas where there was no writ of the government and other forces were active. Justice Chaudhry was displeased over the fact that DG Rangers had not accepted responsibility for the law and order situation worsening day by day. The pity was that an increasing number of girls were being abducted in the presence of law enforcers. What annoyed the CJ and other judges the most was the fact that all three senior officials were giving contradictory statements. The court told them in categorical terms to eliminate the ‘no-go’ areas within a week’s time or else be prepared for punishment.

The court is fully aware of what is wrong and where. Earlier last year, it held daily hearing of a suo motto case and issued a 14-point guideline to improve the situation. It did not work out because of political influence. It is time to act now.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...ons/editorials

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had nurtured the dream of independent Bengal from early days. He and his henchmen got in touch with Indian intelligence agencies and during one of the meetings in Agartala in November 1963, finalized the plan to detach East Pakistan from rest of Pakistan. Under the garb of remedying political and economic grievances of East Pakistan, he formulated six points formula and fanned Bengali nationalism. Unearthing of Agartala conspiracy case in 1968 turned the secessionist into a hero in the eyes of Bengalis. Indian media was instrumental in lionizing Mujib.

Breakup of One-Unit Scheme, one-man-one-vote and change of separate electorate to joint electorate by Gen Yahya Khan so as to appease the agitating Bengalis gave the Awami League (AL) electoral victory in a platter. Year-long election campaign allowed Mujib to use high-handed tactics to not only intimidate the people of East Pakistan but also inflame Bengali nationalism. Indian media and secular Bengali intellectuals presented West Pakistan as a villain and publicized Mujib’s six point program as a panacea for all the problems of East Pakistan, which in actuality amounted to secession. All criminal and illegal acts of AL thugs were ignored under the policy of appeasement.

After sweeping the elections through massive rigging, Mujib and his henchmen became more arrogant and uncompromising. They stubbornly maintained that new constitution will be framed strictly in accordance with six points and refused to accommodate viewpoint of second largest party PPP. The situation became uncontrollable in Dacca on 1 March after Yahya unwisely postponed inaugural session scheduled in Dacca on 3 March on the insistence of Bhutto and hawkish Generals. It sparked horrible conflagration and let loose genie of Bengali nationalism.

On the afternoon of 3 March, Mujib demanded immediate return of troops to barracks and to hand over security of Dacca to him, or else his men would resist them. He also demanded cessation of flow of reinforcement from West Pakistan and disarming of non-Bengalis. Eastern Command Commander Lt Gen Sahibzada Yaqub capitulated to his wrongful demands, which was a blunder. Gen Gul Hassan said that to allow Mujib to restore calm was ‘somewhat like leaving a virgin in the care of a habitual rapist’.

A state within state was created and Bengalis took orders from Mujib only. Everywhere the chanting of ‘Joi Bangla’ could be heard. New Bangladesh flag was hoisted. Mujib’s hostile tantrums amounted to virtual independence. In order to provoke Gen Yahya to use force and thus give an excuse to start a popular civil war aided by India, a planned massacre of non-Bengalis including Biharis and pro-government Bengalis and rape of West Pakistani girls was unleashed. Their properties were torched and valuables looted. The madness continued till 25 March filling the roads and streets of Dacca and other major towns with blood. Stench of the dead bodies littered on the roads unattended became unbearable and it became difficult to breathe. Over 100,000 people, mostly Biharis were hacked to death. Stories of ‘torture to death’ are too horrifying and blood curdling to narrate and have been narrated in hundreds of books.

Non-Bengali and loyal elements butchery continued with unabated venom. None came to the rescue of the hounded. They were baffled and found themselves at the mercy of hounding wolves. They had no weapons to fend for themselves and no place to hide and as such got slaughtered like sheep. Even our media was blanked on the ill-conceived ground that broadcasting of atrocities would evoke a severe backlash against Bengalis in West Pakistan. The biased western media team located in Dacca turned a blind eye to the carnage of non-Bengalis. It also turned a blind eye to India’s meddling and induction of 90,000 Indian soldiers in West Bengal in March 1971.

The troops confined to barracks kept hearing the savageries committed on men in uniform and their families with impotent rage. Attacks on Army pickets were stepped up and the Army jeered at. Soldiers were spat upon and called Yahya dogs.

Sizeable number of men in Khaki and their families particularly those serving in East Pakistan Rifles (EPR) and East Pakistan Civil Armed Forces were hacked to death. By such acts, the Army was being deliberately provoked to lose patience and to take punitive action. This would have given Mujib and his henchmen a weapon to whip up anti-Army emotions thereby dubbing the Army as an occupation Army. It would have paved the way for civil war thereby fulfilling the requirement of India.

Yahya’s regime was subjected to extreme criticism for its procrastinating attitude and its passivity to confront Bengali defiance against the state. All those who mattered in West Pakistan and pro-Pakistan Bengalis exerted extreme pressure on President Yahya to take punitive action against the dissidents. Even Bhutto prodded him to use full force regardless of casualties before it was too late.

During the ten-day negotiations in Dacca in March 1971, Yahya team trying to find a way out of impasse remained totally defensive and apologetic and had no card to play. They kept giving in and got nothing in return. No political leader including Bhutto could soften up Mujib. The Mujib led team on the other hand maintained a highly belligerent and uncompromising posture. It was amply clear that AL simply didn’t want a constitutional agreement conducive to the retention of national identity. His mentors had briefed him not to agree on any point or concession offered at any cost.

Matiur Rahman in his book ‘Bangladesh Today’ writes, ‘It was indeed most mind boggling to note that while Yahya Khan and his team persistently offered power to Mujib, the latter constantly hedged, refused to agree to any settlement, shifted his position from six points and refused to accept any formula within the framework of a united Pakistan’. Mujib had made up his mind to part ways and that too through violent means.

It was on the evening of 24 March 1971 when Yahya got convinced that Mujib didn’t want anything short of confederation that he gave green signal to Gen Tikka Khan to save the federation. Orders to unit commanders were passed verbally on the morning of 25th March. The toughest challenge was in Dacca where the outcome of crackdown would have decided the fate of East Pakistan. The city and its suburbs housed heaviest concentration of armed rebels followed by Chittagong. As per foreign press reports, there were 200,000 weapons with the militants in East Pakistan.

Despite extremely heavy odds, the troops numbering 12000 went into action and by early morning of 26th, Dacca was cleared of miscreants and in next few days all other critical towns were also taken over since the rebels had fled. Reinforcement from West Pakistan were rushed in only when it was found that EBR, EPR and Police had also rebelled and rebellion had got transformed into a well-planned civil war supported by India.

When the prejudiced foreign journalists were ousted from Dacca by Gen Tikka, the jilted journalists got settled in Calcutta and played into the hands of Indian media. Indo-western-AL media cooked up fabricated stories of all kinds of atrocities and quoted highly bloated figures of those killed in Army action on 25th March and subsequently. All this was done to smoke-screen the large-scale atrocities committed by AL urchins and anti-social elements. The next round of killings and rapes was undertaken by Mukti Bahini after 23 November 1971, later joined by Indian forces. Raping of Bengali girls and women at a mass scale was undertaken by Indian Army and BSF soldiers in the refugee camps in India during their confinement period of over nine months.

It is ironic that today the AL led government at the behest of India is demanding apology from Pakistan for the so-called war crimes, and is convicting aged Jamaat-e-Islami members through Kangaroo courts, who had played their honorable part to save their motherland, but is completely ignoring the barbarities of its own members against Biharis and West Pakistanis and their collaboration with hostile India.

Can we notice the footprints of India in Balochistan and in Karachi where quite a few similarities with former East Pakistan crisis can be discerned? Are we alive to the two brewing lavas which are primed to burst? The only thing which probably has frustrated the designs of our adversaries is that the Army kept itself aloof. Hence the story of ‘genocide’ couldn’t be played. ‘Missing persons’ story played up in Balochistan didn’t prove so tantalizing to evoke an international outcry, particularly when ground checks negated the stance of propagandists.

(The writer is a retired Brig, a defence analyst and a columnist)
asifharoonraja@gmail.com

http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/40/

Weekend eve’s spur of the moment stopover of mine to the heart of city for the hunt of some need gave me immense delight. It was all flourish with crowd and traffic jams – something seen after long time and probably, I am amongst those visiting seldom Saddar truly known as heart of the Karachi and adore to live in less busy life pattern by nature but exceptional disparity I promptly noticed there while driving on high density traffic on roads. Some cops were also visible in ripened police carrying vehicles in traditional outlook and a few roaming around with sluggish and flabby outfit.

Rangers’ lorry carrying somewhat similar numeral of paramilitary soldiers was also discernible and two of the employees pointing their weapon eagerly searching for some criminal were also the decor of scenery. Astonish to see the difference, when I asked some one, the reason of more horde there, the local entrepreneur contributed the exclusive rationale was improving and hope of much better law and order in days to come. He commended the effective role of law enforcers and believed that all is to go well in Karachi if things go in same fashion. And this place of Karachi is not exception in drawing people and business but many parts of city are getting alike now.

Karachi–a city of dream and glory for many and a source of bread and butter for more than one tenth of country’s population has invisibly been losing its charm from some time owing to single factor - absence of writ of the law. Wealth gradually started pouring outside and its inhabitant was engulfed in stress ever since criminals griped their foot holds. Worst amongst the heinous criminal’s deeds were the target killing of humans and kidnap for ransom for which unknowns were always made responsible.

School going innocents were not sure that what they find their institution open or closed in strike while leaving home in morning.

But things seem to be in right way now.

My quest prevails when I recall avow and aver of many of politicians that elections are going to be bloodiest and controlling evil and criminals in mega city is uphill task. My literate comrades are concise in their opinion unanimously that solution of Karachi case is only one – handling all odds with iron hands and only saying good bye to political prying will bring back laurels there. In last couple of weeks hot pursuit of criminals by both cops in blacks and with king size shoe tucked in trouser, paramilitary soldiers have been splendid.

Effective cordon and search are result oriented and hide and seek continued between those maker and violator of law mostly in favour of former.
Significant is that all are on board and political reconciliation has fumed out for some time.

Barricade and barriers in many part of city are invisible and the back bone of criminals seems infected now and consistency in effort will make them ineffectual. From signal violation on road to carrying arms and unregistered motor vehicle plying is desired to be knitted with a code of conduct – rightly saying a code exists but its implementation is being attempted. Institutional harmony has been there in right time line when an order surfed out from top courts and taken on professionally by executors.

Time line finds impotency of political player in running after as saviour for their workers and localities of their vote bank is also confirming perceptible bye-product of frail democracy with us. Optimism is there and hope connote believe in life – and is for a stable Karachi so all eyes are for stability and crime free living environment in Karachi; a city that is of people.


http://www.thefrontierpost.com/category/40/