KARACHI: Forty-three lives were brutally cut short today when armed men entered a bus in Karachi and opened indiscriminate fire. Men women and children lost their lives at the hands of militants, most likely for being Ismaili – a peaceful Muslim sect.
They were all passengers on a special bus service provided by Aga Khan Housing Society’s Al-Azhar Gardens project.
With the death toll confirmed, the 43 victims have been identified and their stories, which will remain incomplete, are surfacing.
Outside the hospital where the wounded were taken, and where the bus was parked, scores of grim-faced young men formed a human chain to block everyone but families and doctors.
Emails and Facebook posts on Ismaili pages encouraged the community not respond or say anything that might further endanger them, Reuters reported.
Uzma Alkarim, a member of the Ismaili community, said the bus took commuters to work every day. The Ismailis had faced threats before, she said.
“Around six months ago, our community elders had alerted us to be careful because of security threats but things had calmed down recently,” she said.
Victims also included students, teachers and school staff.
Many students of the Agha Khan Higher Secondary School (AKHSS), aboard the Azhar Garden bus, never made it to school this morning.
According to a school teacher, two female students were supposed to take an aptitude test for intermediate, but were killed in the attack.
Meanwhile, Noman, an intern at the AKHSS administration, was also on the ill-fated bus and was meant to report to the school by 9:30 am, but he’s now admitted to the Agha Khan hospital with a bullet injury behind his ear.
Agha Khan Education Service Pakistan’s member Javed, also a passenger, was killed in the attack.
Today’s attack comes almost five months after a savage attack at the Peshawar Army Public School by the Taliban left over 150 people dead, most of the students.
Al-Azhar Gardens
A lot of thought went into the design and architecture of Al-Azhar Gardens but the one overriding factor was the cost of land. And that is why builders chose a mostly desolate area located off Super Highway for the project.
"The value of real estate was pretty low and the 30 acres these people could afford was available in KDA Scheme 33," said one of the architects.
"These are very peaceful people. They have done so much for the country. It's hard to believe someone could subject them to such brutality."
A project of Aga Khan Housing Society, the society has been designed to accommodate 5,000 people belonging Gujrati–speaking Ismailis.
"All the residents can trace their roots to 26 villages in Indian Gujrat. After partition, these families moved to Pakistan and for decades, and most of them are involved in the business of selling milk in Karachi," the architect said.
The gated colony was designed in such a way that it ensured cohesion among the people. Pathways, pedestrian walkways, gardens and clinic – everything was built within the walls.
It has been more than eight years since residents started moving in the colony and there are no signs of erosion, the architect said.
"They have maintained it excellently. Even the newest and most luxurious high rises in Karachi would have ugly modifications, the air-conditioning grills and leaking pipes. But none of this happens in Al-Azhar Gardens."
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