Daily Times Editorial Dec 30, 2009

The ‘hidden’ hand

The sudden eruption of violence after the suicide bomb attack on the Ashura procession in Karachi was ascribed by some quarters to a spontaneous outburst of anger and frustration at the security agencies for their failure to safeguard the thousands of mourners in the procession. However, as more details are filtering out, the entire episode is acquiring some quite different and worrying dimensions. Masked miscreants were spotted in the immediate aftermath of the blast torching shops and buildings in the vicinity. The fires lit by them spread quickly and were enhanced by attacks over a wider area, especially markets in the neighbourhood. Clearly, the initial target indicated a sectarian atrocity, but the later developments point in the direction of a pre-planned strategy to inflict the maximum damage to life and property in the country’s main commercial centre. The losses have indeed been horrendous, with 43 killed and 83 injured, and the death toll expected to rise. Property losses in the arson that followed are estimated at Rs 30 billion, with 10,000 or more people having lost their jobs. Karachi’s misery is by no means over as reports while these lines are being written indicate another outbreak of firing in the city’s commercial heart, which quickly led to the closure of markets once again. The ‘hidden’ hand behind these events needs probing, with the Taliban and sectarian groups such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi topping the cast of usual suspects.
If the first and foremost aim of the attack on the Ashura procession was to ignite sectarian riots, that at least has been prevented by the highly responsible restraint shown by both Sunni and Shia leaders. While the latter announced three days of mourning, they also appealed for peace and vigilance and a high-powered enquiry. However, the authorities could not escape being blamed for the security failure. On the other hand, a day of mourning was declared throughout Sindh, solidarity demonstrations were held in Lahore, and the Sunni Rehbar Council announced a strike on January 1 in solidarity with the victims of the terrorist outrage. Mercifully, the sectarian aims of the perpetrators appear to have been defused, but the wider objective of causing mayhem and chaos has certainly been achieved.
The handling of the widespread violence and arson that followed the initial suicide blast left much to be desired. The law enforcement agencies mobilised in the thousands for security cover remained silent spectators while the arsonists had a field day. The fire-fighting regime too once again proved unequal to the task. Compensation is once again being trotted out by the authorities to assuage the anguish of those who had near and dear ones killed or injured or their entire livelihoods wiped out. Scepticism abounds about the compensation regime, since past such announcements proved either infructuous or highly unsatisfactory. The government has to ensure that compensation is distributed fairly, transparently and quickly, if the powder keg called Karachi is to settle down.
It would be tempting, and perhaps in accord with past practice, to blame the ubiquitous ‘foreign’ hand. But cooler reflection would indicate that the ‘hidden’ hand is very much indigenous and the injury suffered the result of self-inflicted wounds stemming from the past myopic policies of nurturing extremist militants for the export of jihad in the neighbourhood. Wisdom may have dawned late regarding the fallout of such past misadventures, but painful as the present is, better later than never. An inherently difficult task of crushing these enemies of the people and the state can only be successfully conducted by mobilising the citizenry and beefing up intelligence work to disrupt the terrorists’ plans from within. No amount of security deployment can ensure foolproof guarantees against the recurrence of such incidents. But an aroused citizenry and more effective intelligence could arguably make the difference in pre-empting the terrorists before they unleash their deadly trade.