EDITORIAL : THE DAWN, PAKISTAN

Karachi violence

NEARLY a hundred people have been killed in Karachi over the last two weeks. Is it this city`s fate to suffer in silence? Is there no solution to the violence that has torn Karachi apart and which has now reached a level of chaos that is becoming increasingly difficult to decipher? Earlier, it was relatively easy to identify foes and the perpetrators of specific incidents of murder. The finger of blame, not an easy thing to raise publicly in Karachi, could then be pointed in private with considerable surety at one political group or the other. Now the situation is much murkier as `targeted killings` are being carried out by a wide spectrum of operators, including hardened criminals of little or no ideological or political bent. Ethnicity and sectarianism — call it plain hatred for the other — come into it of course, as do the yearnings of some to check a demographic shift that could undermine their position at the polls. Then there is the lust for power, a `this is our area` syndrome, that otherwise unempowered citizens find so heady that they can kill real or perceived opponents to achieve their objectives. And let`s not forget the land mafia. Karachi, despite its myriad problems, is still prime real estate and the fight over grabbing a piece of the pie is also claiming lives. The last week or so has seen a spike in assassinations that are not readily understood, for they could be attributed to a combination of all these factors.

How long will it be repeated, in print and on television, that Karachi burns again? Somehow sporadic carnage has become an accepted fact of life in the city. People keep score, without much inner reflection, of how many are killed on any given day, almost just as casually as they ask passers-by about the latest from the cricket World Cup. Such desensitisation does not bode well for the future. True, most people have no choice but to get on with it, to get to their workplaces every day and earn a livelihood come what may. But the psychological scars of this relentless exposure to, and tacit acceptance of, violence will only become more engraved over time.

It is time for all groups that claim ownership of Karachi to come together and end this madness. What has become `normal` is unacceptable and the blame game that dominates life in Karachi cannot provide any solutions. Genuine grievances need to be aired around a table, not through guns or — in a new twist to an already deadly situation — hand grenades. Our elected representatives must restore the rule of law.

Sorrange tragedy

THE blast at a coalmine in Sorrange near Que- tta on Sunday exposes the miserable conditions mine workers in Pakistan face. Several methane gas explosions caused the 4,000-foot-deep mine to collapse, trapping over 50 miners. By Monday, officials said 45 miners were confirmed dead while the hope of finding any survivors appeared to be slim. The blast was so powerful it blew off the roofs of nearby houses. The mine is owned by the state-run Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation but had been leased to a contractor. According to a report in this paper, the contractor had been warned two weeks ago by the chief inspector of mines to shut down the mine due to the excessive accumulation of methane. However, the warning was ignored. The result of the negligence was Sunday`s tragedy.

While miners across the globe work in hazardous conditions, the predicament of mine workers in this country is particularly acute. Mine safety in Pakistan is very poor and several deaths are reported every year. Workers use obsolete equipment and there are hardly any safety protocols in place. Observers say that in mineral-rich Balochistan mine accidents in which one or two workers die are routine; it is only when the death toll is higher that the accidents make news. According to one figure, over the last four years over 150 accidents have occurred in Balochistan`s mines. Nearly 170 workers are believed to have died in these mishaps. Crude methods are used to detect the level of gas in mines while the safety of workers is given least precedence by contractors and mine owners. The state needs to apply work-safety regulations to mines and ensure that operators are observing these. It must be ensured that miners have access to modern tools and equipment while workers should be made familiar with the safety protocols to follow in case of an emergency. Contractors and mine owners who fail to follow safeguards and continue to put the lives of workers at risk for the sake of profits should also be brought to justice.

Pakistanis in Bahrain

IS it advisable to continue to recruit Pakistanis for Bahrain`s security forces at a time when the anti-monarchy stir shows no sign of abating? Pakistanis have been working in oil-rich Arab countries for decades, contributing to the host countries` development and sending billions in foreign exchange back home. This helps ease pressure on the acute unemployment position at home, with Pakistanis abroad working in diverse positions — from unskilled labourers to white-collar workers. However, the situation in Manama warrants a serious review of our recruitment policies because of the hatred towards Pakistanis serving in the Bahrain police. So far enraged mobs have killed four Pakistanis, two of them policemen, who were lynched in Pearl Square by angry protesters. The latter continued to kick and mutilate their bodies long after the Pakistanis were dead.

The mob`s hostility towards the Pakistani policemen is understandable, considering that they are part of the force that is crushing the people`s desire for freedom. Because the Bahraini people want their rights as citizens, their fury would naturally turn on anyone helping an authoritarian regime. Conflicting reports say Pakistani homes have been marked as targets for future attacks, imperilling the lives of thous- ands of Pakistani men, women and children. Yet the Bahria and Fauji foundations continue to seek recruits for the Bahrain National Guards. Islamabad must realise the damage the continued recruitment is doing to Pakistan`s image in Bahrain and other Gulf countries at a time when an anti-establishment wave is rocking the Arab world from the Gulf to the Atlantic. It is true that the recruitment drive has been in place for long and is not specific to the current situation. Nevertheless, Pakistanis` continued recruitment to a coercive apparatus would appear to the people of Bahrain as a callous disregard for their struggle for freedom.