May 12, the day that allowed some fighters to prove their mettle

KARACHI:

On May 12, 2007 some men died - and others were reborn.

It made the fortunes of scummy street fighters who grovelled to get noticed but never made the cut in the militant wing of the party they panted after. Some men ran, but others emerged about 46 bodies later, with distinction.

Twenty-seven-year-old B is among those who stayed to fight till the end.

“May 12 is not in my past, it is my today,” he told The Express Tribune from his hideout in district West. “Whatever I am today is because of May 12. I am proud that it made my reputation in my party but sad that in that fight I lost a lot of friends.”

While B had joined the party about six years ago, May 12 gave him a chance to prove himself. He is now considered among the bravest and strongest activists. The party, which had often ignored him, has now rewarded him by making him the chief of one of several militant units, he says.

“Every dog has his day,” he muses. “My own people who used to degrade me are now working under me today.” He won the position he had long coveted.

But, at some level he has paid a price. A price he is willing to pay. “I’ve been distanced from my loved ones,” he says. “I can’t roam around openly and I can’t live at home. With success I have also won more enemies.”

According to him, he killed four workers from a rival political party at two different fronts on May 12. He was located at Baloch Colony and Drigh Road. “Four are confirmed,” he says. “Why should I feel guilty? The men who I killed weren’t angels. If I didn’t kill them, they would have killed me.”

Five years after the day, he maintains that he never went into the fray to rise in the ranks and was “purely fighting for the party”. “Bara saman (SMG) end time per dhoka de gaya tha. Shukar hai us waqt pistol tha, aur backup per larke bhi. Bas lamho ki baat thi, thori bhi late hota to shayad me late ho jata.” (The big ones (sub-machine guns) gave up on us right at the end. Thank God, I had the pistol on me and there were boys in backup. It was a matter of moments. If I had hesitated and missed, perhaps they wouldn’t have.)

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2012.