13
May 2004
Mr
Kofi Annan
Secretary General
The United Nations
UN Plaza, New York 10017
USA
Dear
Secretary General
KARACHI
UNDER SIEGE OF THE PRO-TALIBAN RELIGIOUS PARTIES ALLIANCE MUTTAHIDA
MAJLIS-E-AMAL (MMA), JAMAT-E-ISLAMI, THE MAIN COMPONENT OF THE ALLIANCE
The
United States of America, Great Britain and the rest of the democratic world has
already experienced and experiencing terrorism, suicidal squads and draconian
acts of Taliban, its allies, pro-Taliban Pakistani religious parties Muttahida
Majlis-e-Amal including the Jamat-e-Islami whose holy warriors (Extremists and
Jihadis) have waged Jihad (Holy Wars) in many parts of the world. The United
States of America and other democratic countries have declared many of their
directly and indirectly sponsored and patronised terrorists groups as global
terrorists.
During
the by-elections in Karachi on 12 May 2004, the MMA and Jamat-e-Islami committed
acts of terrorism. The gun-tottering terrorists armed with sophisticated and
automated weapons of the MMA and Jamat-e-Islami were given impunity by their
extremists and fanatic allies in the Establishment to commit indiscriminate
firing, murder, harass and intimidate the voters, occupy polling stations,
inflict inhuman torture on workers, supporters, leaders, nominated candidates,
polling agents of the MQM and presiding officers and throw them out of the
polling stations, burning and looting the moveable and immovable possessions of
the MQM supporters who belonged to the cross sections of the society, mainly
Mohajirs. While the terrorists of the extremist religious parties, the MMA and
Jamat-e-Islami committing terrorism and violence to disturb peace, the
para-military rangers and police remained a mere spectator that proved
corroborating evidence of their support to the extremists elements in the
Establishment.
As
a result of yesterday’s mindless indiscriminate firing on the mobs outside
many polling stations, 9 people were killed amongst them were two MQM workers, a
few bystanders and a few Jamat-e-Islami workers while hundreds were critically
wounded. Innumerable cars and other vehicles, houses and shops of the MQM
supporters were burnt on the Polling Day. The pro-Taliban MMA and Jamat-e-Islami
and their tacit supporter’s objective was to gain seats fraudulently through
violence and intimidating the voters to portray and justify Karachi as the den
of the extremists and Jihadi elements.
It
is pertinent to mention that the religious elements had lost support in Sindh
province after the emergence of the MQM since 1984. The extremist religious
elements of the Establishment who support these obscurantist and parochial
extremist forces wish to weaken the liberal and progressive segments in Pakistan
and Sindh generally and in Karachi particularly, who truly serve and protect
national interests.
Spray
of bullets, as a result of indiscriminate firing does not identify workers and
supporters of any particular group or party. Indiscriminate bullets simply kill
and injure human beings indiscriminately.
This
indiscriminate firing on the mobs outside polling stations by the terrorists of
MMA had multifaceted objectives.
First, the MMA wanted to terrorise the people of Karachi and the workers
of the MQM so they could not cast their votes in favour of the MQM candidates.
Secondly
the MMA wanted to show the world that the law and order situation is very bad in
Karachi and Sindh and this city is under the control of the religious extremists
groups. For
this purpose the Jamat-e-Islami also needed some dead bodies for justifying
their further agitation and disturbing the peaceful atmosphere of Karachi and
Sindh. That
was why the terrorists of MMA resorted to indiscriminate firings, which resulted
in the murder of not only MQM workers and innocent people but some activists of
Jamat-e-Islami also got killed.
After
the indiscriminate firings the MMA tried to use the killings of their own
supporters to gain opportunity to politicise the dead-bodies under the pretext
of funeral prayers and burial is height of callousness and a benchmark of
hypocritical exploitative politics of murder of this extremist alliance which is
called the MMA, Jamat-e-Islami being its component.
Having
faced a humiliating defeat in the by-elections, yesterday (12-05-04), the MMA
and Jamat-e-Islami gun-wielding terrorists’ have put Karachi, under siege,
once again, today. Under the pretext of funeral prayers and burials, the MMA and
Jamat-e-Islami have let loose their gun-tottering terrorists on the streets of
Karachi. They are harassing the innocent people of Karachi who support the MQM,
burning and looting shops and properties of the MQM supporters and innocent
people including the localities of Pushtuns and Baloch, who having reneged from
the policies of the extremists pro-Taliban MMA and Jamat-e-Islmai and have
started supporting the MQM. Eyewitnesses claimed that the gun-wielding
terrorists have also ruthlessly beaten-up an Army Captian during their today’s
rampage whose elements support them. The extremists pro-Taliban MMA and
Jamat-e-Islami are hell bent to continually disturb peace and tranquillity of
Karachi and portray it as violent city to desist foreign and domestic investors
from investing in Sindh and Karachi and brainwash the foreign investors to
invest in the provinces that these parties hail from. They have forcibly
occupied Karachi by the support of certain elements of the Establishment.
We
appeal to you to come forward on SOS basis to save the city of Karachi, its
people and its genuine representative party, the MQM, which is a singular force
genuinely hailing from the middle class and downtrodden segments of the society
and singularly combating religious terrorism and feudalism in Pakistan generally
and particularly in Sindh province and Karachi while other so-called liberal
parties continually engage themselves with these Mullahs in negotiations and
brokering for power.
Yours
faithfully
M.
Anwar
Member
of the Central Co-ordination Committee and
Senior
Co-ordinator, International Relations and Human Rights.