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.