Oct 18’s 4th anniversary: Remorse and rebuke pile up on day to remember the dead

Pervez Musharraf, Arbab Ghulam Rahim held responsible by PPP.

KARACHI: In order to pay homage to those who were killed in the attack on the homecoming parade for Benazir Bhutto on October 18, 2007, hundreds of Pakistan Peoples Party activists gathered at the monument of Shuhada-e-Karsaz, Shahrae Faisal on Tuesday evening.

Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah said that culprits would be arrested soon. Talking to the media after the inaugural ceremony of the monument in the memory of the victims, he held Pervez Musharraf and the then chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam responsible and said that the government had started collecting proof on why the streetlights had been switched off just around the time her truck was passing by.

The three-part monument has a 10-foot high black marble base with the names of the victims. It rises into an arrow, the PPP’s electoral symbol. Architects Manzoor Qadir, Iqbal Baloch and Arif Qasim designed it while credit for the relief goes to Rohina Malik.

Shah said that despite many attempts the then government did not allow Benazir Bhutto to lodge a case against the people she wanted to nominate. “We went to court, which ordered the police to register the FIR, but a proper case could not be lodged,” he said.

To Dr Zulfiqar Mirza’s allegation that Rehman Malik did not allow him to investigate the October 18 attack, Shah said, “Dr Mirza was a more powerful minister than the incumbent home minister. He should be asked about the progress of the case.”

Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon told The Express Tribune said that the last government had removed all evidence related to the investigations before the PPP came into power. “Both Pervez Musharraf and Arbab Ghulam Rahim were then in office and they are answerable for this crime,” said Memon. “But our struggle is against the mindset that orchestrates such acts of terrorism, not with an individual or two.”

Minister Pir Mazharul Haq recalled that harrowing night. “I assume that it’ll remain [in my mind] as long as I live,” he said. “But I’m proud of the memory of the party activists who didn’t run away but gathered around the armoured truck to ensure the wellbeing of their beloved leader.”

On whether Dr Zulfiqar Mirza was right or wrong in his claims, Haq turned his guns towards the media. “You [media channels] are wrong as you make fun of our party and unnecessarily rake up the issues,” he said. “Rather than asking me, the media should find the truth in this matter by putting its resources to use.”

As he spoke, dozens of party activists chanted slogans in favour of Mirza right at his back. One of them shouted, “Rehman Malik is a traitor. He only uses the party’s name and works for others.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2011.