Unrelenting violence

That we were inexorably moving last week towards this bloody Thursday we never gave it a thought. On this day, at the gate of the Karachi University a minibus was waylaid and its passengers attacked with lethal weapons resulting in deaths of seven including four students. Up in the north, close to Tarbela Dam, a Pak Army commando facility was attacked by a suicide bomber, killing 20 and injuring double that number.
Meanwhile, throughout the day clashes between security forces and militants continued in South Waziristan. There are conflicting claims about the number of casualties on both sides, but these were certainly in scores, if not hundreds. These gory incidents had the stunning effect on the minds of people although all along we had the eerie feeling that these were coming.
The script of this wall-to-wall violence was written, very legibly, over the past many months and years. We knew that chaos and terror were stalking various academic institutions in Karachi over the last few weeks, even murders were committed on the campuses. But one did not see a serious effort to avert what was dangerously looming so close.
As for the Tarbela tragedy, to a discerning person a link is there between the incident and the Lal Masjid carnage. And, as for the revolt in the tribal areas one would ask who shattered the peace and tranquillity by violating peace agreements so assiduously arrived at with locals both in North Waziristan and South Waziristan.
The incidence of violence is growing as terrorists of various allegiances are getting bolder by the day. The recent attacks on intelligence sleuths and ace commandos indicate the size and strength of the anti-regime forces. The resistance confronting the regime stems from the anger of the people who tend to see that the agenda it is promoting is not in consonance with Islamic tenets, and is, therefore, anti-Pakistan which came into being in the name of Islam and is supposed to be a democratic polity.
Most of the people see with suspicion various official policies, be it reformation of educational system or privatisation of state enterprises or combating foreigners in the tribal belt. With mind so heavily influenced by anti-regime sentiments, there is a very weak, if not non-existent, acknowledgement of gains made in the economic sector.
Now that President Musharraf has decided to seek another five-year term the anti-regime feelings have started coming to a head. It appears anti-Musharraf forces are bracing themselves to give him the final battle. That would surely add to the tensions that already so thickly permeate national politics.
One would be less than fair to believe that President Musharraf's reelection would help defuse tensions and avert more violence. In fact, the way out of this challenging situation is, from the next street and that is general elections. The gravity of the situation begs for out-of-the-box solutions.
And for that to happen there should be free, fair and transparent general elections, so fair and free and transparent that people accept their outcome. Short of that the elections would lead to more violence and anarchy.
The new government should hold impartial inquiries into various incidents of terrorism, violence and alleged state excesses and punish the guilty, because durable peace in the country will be built only when all ends of justice will have been met. This may appear to be a tall order but social and political fragmentation that our society has undergone is even more hazardous. Meanwhile, the presidential reelection can wait.