Cycle of violence

Our authorities need to be more proactive and have better rules in place to stifle the consequences of violence.

In the aftermath of the unrest seen during Muharram in Karachi and other cities, it is not surprising that a new spree of violence took over the city on December 3. The murder of 45-year-old seminary teacher Maulana Mohammad Ismail, who taught at Madrassa Ahsanul Uloom, by two armed men riding a motorcycle sparked an immediate orgy of death, with two MQM activists, two policemen and two Karachi Metropolitan Corporation employees among the 10 others gunned down. Tensions appeared to run especially high in predominantly Pashtun areas of the city, including Sohrab Goth, based perhaps on the ethnicity of the teacher.

The danger in Karachi is that such violence will accelerate as ethnic — and possibly sectarian factors — come into play. The reasoning for the death is often obscure. But the fact is, there have been too many deaths; too much disruption of life. On Monday, too, people fled home and shopping areas closed. The economic losses from all this have, perhaps, never been properly estimated but we all know that in terms of human suffering, the costs have been formidably high.

Sadly, no long-term thinking has been put in place to prevent such mayhem. The result is that we have little choice but to watch, wait and hope that things in Karachi will simmer down to something resembling normalcy. The potential for violence in our largest city is enormous. Virtually any incident can trigger killings, as weapons are readily available in the hands of people. In this case, too, the rioting was initiated by students of the madrassa. In cases of such violence, even when those vandalising are arrested by the police, they are released soon after which really does not serve to deter them from taking up arms in the future. Our authorities need to be more proactive and have better rules in place to stifle the consequences of such violence. If people see strict action being taken, they would think twice before indulging in hooliganism the next time.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2012.