Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The attempt on the life of the Pakistan army8217;s corps commander, Lt General Ahsan Saleem Hyat 8212; the senior-most military officer in Sindh 8212; which killed 10 people including seven armymen, comes after nearly six weeks of mayhem by terrorists in Karachi alone where over 62 people have been killed since May 1. It is not for nothing that the commercial capital of Pakistan and its main port city acquired the dubious distinction of being described as the 8220;killing fields8221; more than a decade ago. With a lacklustre military operation going on against the Al-Qaeda in Waziristan by the Pakistan army, the involvement of Al-Qaeda 8212; which has extensive support base in Karachi 8212; cannot be ruled out.
While crime and killings have been a routine affair in all parts of Karachi for two decades, the posh Clifton area seems to have been reserved for more dramatic acts of terrorism and assassination. After all, it was here that a son of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and the brother of the then prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated in broad daylight nearly a decade ago. One would imagine that Pakistan8217;s premier intelligence agency, the ISI, with its extensive role in the creation of mujahideen and terrorism both to the east and west of Pakistan, not to talk of promoting ethno-sectarian violence in Sindh since 1983, would have kept a close watch on terrorists of all shades and calling.
