Blood and ballots: Children pay the price for terrorism in Karachi
Eight-year-old Abdul Rehman among victims of the blasts near MQM office.
Media officials record video the site of twin bomb blasts near the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party office in Karachi on May 4, 2013. PHOTO: AFP
SUKKUR/KARACHI:
Unlike his two siblings, eight-year-old Abdul Rehman had full control over his physical and cognitive abilities. He was still, unfortunately, the unluckiest of the three children because he became one of the victims of the two blasts that ripped apart a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) office, Unit 153-A, in Azizabad, Gulberg, on Saturday.
Rehman studied in grade two and came from a lower-middle class family. He was playing with his cousins in a park opposite the MQM office and had just exited the park when the blasts occurred, killing the boy on the spot.
“If the Taliban believe themselves to be so powerful, then why don’t they plant bombs inside the offices of the political parties rather than outside the offices like cowards,” asked Rehman’s father, Abdul Saleem. “Which Islam are they talking about? Is it Islamic to shed the blood of innocent children?”
Saleem migrated to Sindh from Punjab 16 years ago in the hopes of financial prosperity. He works in a shop in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. “I came to Karachi to build a good life for myself but Karachi has taken my life from me,” said Saleem. “We had pinned all our hopes on Rehman,” he recalled. Rehman’s cousin, Usman, was also wounded in the blast and was admitted at the hospital. Doctors, however, said that he was out of danger. Rehman was the second boy who lost his life in election-related violence. Four-year-old Aimal Sadiq Zaman and his father, Sadiq Zaman Khattak, were shot dead by unidentified men in Korangi on Friday. Khattak was a member of Awami National Party and was contesting elections from NA-254. The incident occurred when they exited a mosque after offering prayers.
The other two victims of the blasts, Muhammad Younus Ismail and Rahatullah Khan, were members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. Ismail, who was 17 years old, worked as an electrician and lived in Block-17, Gulberg. He was buying beetle-nut from a shop when the incident happened. Khan, a resident Gulistan-e-Jauhar, had come to Azizbad to assist with MQM’s election campaign. He was leaving the area to return home and celebrate his son’s birthday when the blast occurred.
Funerals and FIRs
Khan and Ismail were buried in Muhammad Shah graveyard, North Karachi. Rehman was buried in the Yasinabad graveyard. A number of members of MQM attended the funeral prayers. Azizabad police have registered FIR No 69/13 under Section 302/34, 324, on behalf of complainant Sarwatullah, Rahatullah’s brother.
Strike four for MQM
Karachi wore a deserted look on Sunday - the fourth day of mourning to be held in 12 days. Transport and economic activities resumed after MQM announced an end to the mourning later in the day.
MQM’s appeal to observe a day of mourning failed to gather support in most of Upper Sindh, excluding Sukkur. Business activities and transport continued as normal in many districts.
MQM activists had contacted various trade unions in Sukkur asking them to keep their businesses shut as a result of which parts of the district remained closed.
Shopkeepers in Shahi Bazaar, Jinnah Chowk, Clock Tower and Gharibabad, strongly condemned the forced closure of their businesses. “We are annoyed with the repeated calls to hold days of mourning because they disrupt trade, particularly in Karachi,” said one shopkeeper. “We condemn the repeated attacks on the offices of the political parties but what is the use of holding strikes?” The shopkeepers also demanded that the government deploy armed forces to prevent parties from forcing people to close their businesses.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2013.
Unlike his two siblings, eight-year-old Abdul Rehman had full control over his physical and cognitive abilities. He was still, unfortunately, the unluckiest of the three children because he became one of the victims of the two blasts that ripped apart a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) office, Unit 153-A, in Azizabad, Gulberg, on Saturday.
Rehman studied in grade two and came from a lower-middle class family. He was playing with his cousins in a park opposite the MQM office and had just exited the park when the blasts occurred, killing the boy on the spot.
“If the Taliban believe themselves to be so powerful, then why don’t they plant bombs inside the offices of the political parties rather than outside the offices like cowards,” asked Rehman’s father, Abdul Saleem. “Which Islam are they talking about? Is it Islamic to shed the blood of innocent children?”
Saleem migrated to Sindh from Punjab 16 years ago in the hopes of financial prosperity. He works in a shop in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. “I came to Karachi to build a good life for myself but Karachi has taken my life from me,” said Saleem. “We had pinned all our hopes on Rehman,” he recalled. Rehman’s cousin, Usman, was also wounded in the blast and was admitted at the hospital. Doctors, however, said that he was out of danger. Rehman was the second boy who lost his life in election-related violence. Four-year-old Aimal Sadiq Zaman and his father, Sadiq Zaman Khattak, were shot dead by unidentified men in Korangi on Friday. Khattak was a member of Awami National Party and was contesting elections from NA-254. The incident occurred when they exited a mosque after offering prayers.
The other two victims of the blasts, Muhammad Younus Ismail and Rahatullah Khan, were members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. Ismail, who was 17 years old, worked as an electrician and lived in Block-17, Gulberg. He was buying beetle-nut from a shop when the incident happened. Khan, a resident Gulistan-e-Jauhar, had come to Azizbad to assist with MQM’s election campaign. He was leaving the area to return home and celebrate his son’s birthday when the blast occurred.
Funerals and FIRs
Khan and Ismail were buried in Muhammad Shah graveyard, North Karachi. Rehman was buried in the Yasinabad graveyard. A number of members of MQM attended the funeral prayers. Azizabad police have registered FIR No 69/13 under Section 302/34, 324, on behalf of complainant Sarwatullah, Rahatullah’s brother.
Strike four for MQM
Karachi wore a deserted look on Sunday - the fourth day of mourning to be held in 12 days. Transport and economic activities resumed after MQM announced an end to the mourning later in the day.
MQM’s appeal to observe a day of mourning failed to gather support in most of Upper Sindh, excluding Sukkur. Business activities and transport continued as normal in many districts.
MQM activists had contacted various trade unions in Sukkur asking them to keep their businesses shut as a result of which parts of the district remained closed.
Shopkeepers in Shahi Bazaar, Jinnah Chowk, Clock Tower and Gharibabad, strongly condemned the forced closure of their businesses. “We are annoyed with the repeated calls to hold days of mourning because they disrupt trade, particularly in Karachi,” said one shopkeeper. “We condemn the repeated attacks on the offices of the political parties but what is the use of holding strikes?” The shopkeepers also demanded that the government deploy armed forces to prevent parties from forcing people to close their businesses.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2013.