When wanton violence was let loose on the bloody May 12, I was in Vietnam, with a group of European and Far Eastern businessmen, who were invited by the Messe Munchen, a German Trade Fair company. My son was relaying a running commentary for me from Karachi on phone; at one stage he just kept the phone next to the TV and I could hear the charged voice of Talat Hussain of Aaj.
That was the time when our Vietnamese hosts had taken us on a tour of Hanoi and we were walking to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum - something I always wanted to do. Listening to what was happening to the people of my city, my heart sank. Perhaps my worry was written large on my face; some friends asked what had happened and I had to not only tell them the news but also the whole background. They were quite well-informed about our executive versus legal fraternity squabble. Pakistan was the topic of the day, but alas! for wrong reasons.
A day earlier, the Messe officials were telling us that they were planning to organise a major international infrastructure conference and exhibition in Hanoi, because the fast-growing economy needed investment in infrastructure. I was tempted to draw their attention to Pakistan, which I said is a bigger economy than Vietnam.
But then after the disturbing news from back home I dropped the idea of pursuing it any further. Who would come to Karachi, when we are shooting our own people, while the Rangers, Police and the whole establishment stood by and watched it, as if it was happening in Rwanda?
On returning home the first shock was that my older son and daughter, who returned to Pakistan after finishing their studies abroad and are working here, said: 'Baba enough is enough; our idealism was finally shattered on the bloody May 12, and we want to migrate to the West.'
First few days people were just sharing the horrible stories. Now all the political parties are blaming each other for the violence, which has taken more than 40 lives. The civil society, political parties, city elite, intelligentsia and government officials I have met in the last week are directly and indirectly convinced that the Sindh government was responsible for the carnage. The MQM leadership is now at pains to prove that the PPP started the violence.
Now feeling ill at case with the barrage of criticism, they have indeed taken up a PR exercise which has saved the city from a major strike at least for the time being.
Looking at the country's domestic and geopolitical situation, one cannot be very optimistic about its foreseeable future. It may be doing better on the economic front but politically it seems to be drifting to more confusion and chaos. Karachi's future cannot be much different from the rest of the country. And it may not be long before the political uncertainties start affecting the economy.
My friend, Munir Malik, who was given an intimidating message with a volley of bullets on his residence that he should not lead the struggle for independence of judiciary, predicted in a TV interview that it's going to rain for the better. Munir is an optimistic lawyer. But hasn't the scripture said: "For He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." And Lord Justice Bowen's witty rhyme said:
The rain it raineth on the just,
And also on the unjust fella.
But chiefly on the just, because
The unjust has the just's umbrella.
(ayazbabar@gmail.com)