Q&A: Karachi Violence
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Question and Answer
Question: 21/8/2011: In the Sunday issue of “The News” Pakistani newspaper quoted the statement of the Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani that the Pakistani Army is ready to help stop the political and ethnic violence in the city of Karachi, if the government requested him to do that.
What is the truth of this matter, and is there a real need for military intervention in the city to stop the violence since this is a police task and not a military mission, or is this intervention for other purposes?
Answer: To know the reality of what has been and its motives we include:
1- Karachi is Pakistan’s largest city. It has a population by some estimates of 20 million people. It is composed of several different ethnic groups such as Mohajars, Pushtuns, Balouchs, Punjabis, Sindhis, and Bengalis to name a few. The city is also home to religious minorities such as Christians, Hindus, Ismailia, Parsis, Sikhs, Bahá’ís, Jews and Buddhists… Thus, lack of state implementation of Islam in being fair with everyone increases the possibility of sectarian and religious conflict.
2- In the aftermath of the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union’s illegal occupation of Afghanistan, many Pashtun’s migrated to Karachi, and settled in and around the outskirts of the city.
Also since Musharraf’s compliance to support America’s war in the tribal areas in 2003, and because of attacks by U.S. aircraft and Pakistani army in the tribal areas, numbers of Pashtuns and others were displaced in the city to escape from U.S. aircrafts’ crimes to seek security in Karachi.
3- America’s “Suspect” in the recent period that the Mujahideen in general, and the Taliban in particular, are safely moving in Karachi from which they go to Jihad. What made America push Kayani to move against the Taliban and Al Qaeda residing in Karachi? U.S. started this policy after the middle of last year, especially after the American announcement of the incident of Faisal Shehzad in Time Square in New York 1/5/2010. Then America put Karachi under the spotlight, United States said that Shehzad was able to move freely in the city and had been in contact with the militants. Furthermore the United States has used the recognition of the Taliban who carried out the attack on Mehran Naval Base in Karachi, in 22 / 5 / 2011 to put pressure on Kayani to take practical actions.
In 05/27/2011 Reuters quoted Clinton who visited Pakistan days after the attack saying, “This was an especially important visit because we have reached a turning point. We look to Pakistan, to the government of Pakistan to take decisive steps in the days ahead. Many of the leaders of the Taliban continue to live in Pakistan. Pakistan has the responsibility to help us help Afghanistan by preventing insurgents from waging war from Pakistani territory.”
4- Thus, America has felt that Karachi is a problem along with the tribal areas and the borders, and where it cannot use drones in highly populated areas such as Karachi while they are free to use frones in the border areas. So the United States agreed with Kayani to deploy some of the army into Karachi in the same manner it goes after the Mujahideen in the tribal areas and borders, the Army will also help in tracking down militants in Karachi.
5- To instill media justification for the intervention of the army, they moved their henchmen into Karachi to provoke violence between the various races in Karachi leaving many dead and wounded including the destruction of vital interests. Al Jazeera Net quoted the security and health sources in Pakistan in 18 /8/2011, “That more than 39 people were killed and more than forty others were wounded during the 24 hours in the new wave of violence that hit the southern port city of Karachi, Pakistan, which was in the form of a guerrilla war, but police said that the incident has a political dimension.. “
6- All of this is to create a new situation. The people in Karachi will implore the army to intervene in restoring law and order. The United States offered to help in the city of Karachi to combat lawlessness. On August 9, 2011; the Interior Minister of Sindh, Manzoor Wassan met with the U.S. Consul General William Martin and said that the U.S. had offered equipment and other expertise to overcome the situation in the city.
7- Some politicians have been deceived in this deception, local politicians demanded that the army must intervenes in Karachi. On August 3, 2011, MQM and Awami National Party (ANP- the party of the Pashtuns) both expressed their desire for the deployment of army personnel in Karachi to restore peace. A week later, the army also signalled its intent to intervene in the city. On August 9th, the military said in a statement after Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani met his top generals, “The forum expressed concern over the law and order situation in Karachi and its ramifications or implications on the national economy.”
8- The intervention of the army in Karachi is to serve the interests of America. Whereas, the Pakistani Army should go after the American criminals who are occupying the Muslim country of Afghanistan including the American criminals who penetrated the people’s security in Pakistan. The army should not go after their Muslim brothers in Karachi to please America.
The appeal of some local elements of the army being: they are either complicit with the aggression forces of the U.S. and with Kayani, the treacherous, or it is either naivety and lack of political awarenessas a result of the media portraying the army intervention is to maintain security.
9- The Homeland Security is kept by the police and not by the army, which has to protect the country and the people from the aggression of the United States.
We urge all the sincere movements to prevent military intervention in the cities, and to urge the army to stand in the face of the aggression of the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, and oppose U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan and against the CIA and FBI spies and anti-security companies.
Maintaining the security is one of the police tasks, and the security is the security of the people not of the American security. This is to provide reassurance for those concerned with the interests of the country not those of the spies for America and the West.
Allah and His Messenger are with the Believers (Mutaqeen), and are against the infidel colonialists, as this is how it should be.
22 Ramadan 1432
2011/08/22