Of the grim reminders what price was paid to retrieve democracy from the clichéd fists of dictatorship, the Karsaz tragedy stands out as the most telling. Benazir Bhutto had decided to return from exile ignoring strong warnings of the then ruling clique, headed by the then president, General Pervez Musharraf. Once announced, she could not be deterred, that was her track record.
In the early 1990s also, she proved her mettle by defying the most formidable obstructive steps taken by the government of the day to stop her reaching Liaquat Bagh, where she addressed a public meeting. On that high noon of October 18, 2007, as she left Karachi airport, her face betrayed nothing but the happiness of a home-comer.
Her enthusiasm remained at peak even when danger lurked so close to her cavalcade, moving to her destination, the Quaid's mausoleum, in the company of an ever-growing procession. Tragically, her defiance of danger matched the plotters' determination to take her life. The twin blasts that struck her procession were the deadliest in one's memory; some 170 were killed and thrice that number injured.
That three years on, the culprits remain untraced and unpunished, even when most of the time her own party is in power, that is no less tragic. Admitted her procession was too large to be monitored by the security forces and that after nightfall, it was next to impossible to prevent the penetration in the procession by terrorists. But wasn't it the responsibility of the local police and administration to map out the route of her procession and to appropriately line it with the force?
Of course, there is the controversy still raging as to the role of the 'Jan Nisaraan-i-Benazir', who reportedly took over from police, the duty of her security. There were many lapses for which fingers were raised in many directions. Confusion as to who and how many were the victims of the blasts. Of course, in due course of time, the PPP-headed Sindh government took proper care of the victims' families.
But the question remains: who should be held responsible for the deaths of that fateful night. Should the parties take over the security duties, replacing the police, and should the leadership be asked to reduce their public exposure as Interior Minister Rehman Malik recently proposed a fuller debate on these aspects of processions and rallies is in order.
The terrorists had failed at Karsaz, but only for the time being. It didn't take them long to kill Benazir Bhutto, as she moved out of her Liaquat Bagh rally on a cold December-2007 evening. Who killed her, remains a mystery even after the high-profile UN investigation and some not-too-serious efforts by the local authorities.
Without much of evidence, and more as a hunch, the Taliban group is said to be responsible, both for the Karsaz attack and her assassination. The Taliban have denied their hand in her assassination. Now the PPP General Secretary, Jehangir Badr, has demanded that Pervez Musharraf be brought back to face trial for his "involvement" in her killing, citing the UN report, which he says, puts the blame on the government led by the ex-military dictator. But that is an old demand and there is no reason he shouldn't know why her culprits remain untraced and unpunished.
The ubiquitous phenomenon of terrorism in Pakistan has three important aspects. One, it stems from clashing worldviews, which remain un-reconciled, given there is very little public debate on them. Religious extremists, ideological militants and foreign-funded subversive elements resort to wanton killing of innocent people in order to create clout, which they otherwise lack. Two, the public has lost its grit to face terrorists when caught and tried. Knowing that he enjoys no official protection, the man on the street is not prepared to stand up to a terrorist in a court.
Three, the government has no worthwhile strategy to tackle rampant incidence of terrorism. The entire hullabaloo that follows an incident of terrorism is more in the spirit of fire-fighting than a concerted plan. Unfortunately, the fight against terrorism is treated only as a physical action. For this fight to win, it has to take into account all other relevant components like intelligence gathering, prosecution through legal channels and mass awareness. As we see, fighting terrorism is going to be a long haul, for which we need to revisit the entire perspective and planning to get rid of terrorism.