They were not Sunnis or Shiites but only Muslims and that’s what was written on one of the walls of the apartment buildings destroyed by Sunday’s blast in Abbas Town, Karachi. Citizens of Karachi are famous for being proactive even in the face of a tragedy and a similar situation was being witnessed in Abbas Town, where a targeted bomb blast ripped through apartment buildings located side by side. Volunteers and citizens in the absence of police or rescue teams were busy searching for their loved ones in the rubble. Some were busy ensuring security and solacing victims of this tragedy that claimed more than 50 lives.
The apparent aim of the blast was to target Shiites living in this locality. However, among the victims there were Sunnis as well who peacefully co-existed in this Shiite-dominated residential area for years. This tragedy, instead of generating a reaction, brought the two sects even closer. Everyone was helping each other irrespective of caste, creed or sect. Terrorists who brought this tragedy to hundreds of families living in Abbas Town failed once again. Their apparent aim — dividing the people on sectarian lines — did not prove successful.
This show of endurance and solidarity was not only exceptional but a rare phenomenon at least in a country like Pakistan where the whole nation is divided on sectarian and ethnic lines. The reason why militancy has increased over the past couple of decades in the country is also attributed to the ethnic and sectarian divide.
Our leaders, religious circles and sometimes media as well try to put the blame on foreign elements and deny the involvement of banned militant organisations in such incidents. A blame game has become a regular feature of our politics whenever a similar tragedy hits innocent citizens. Sadly, during the last five years federal as well as provincial governments have failed to reach a consensus on developing a counter-terrorism strategy, which is perhaps the biggest demand of the citizens of this country. In the absence of a counter-terrorism strategy, all efforts to bring peace in the country have failed and will fail in the future as well. In the midst of this blame game and lack of consensus, citizens remain on the losing side.
The assurance of protection and security is the responsibility of the state but when the state machinery fails in doing so, citizens are left with no choice but to help themselves. Residents of Abbas Town were well aware of this fact and that is why they started moving the dead and the injured to nearby hospitals. They organised themselves into various teams. Those who had lost everything were moved to safe places and were offered shelter. Even those who got minor injuries reached the blast site to help others. The teamwork shown by the residents of Abbas Town was exceptional, and according to some media reports, they also arranged blood for the injured and raised money to help those who were left with nothing.
It remains a sad fact in our country that citizens are left with minimum or no options and the state remains oblivious of the tragedies that hit them. The law enforcement agencies remain ineffectual. Even after three days of the blast, the investigation team remains clueless about the vehicle that was used in the blast.
The Senate has recently passed an Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) bill 2013 that aims to redefine terrorism. Fortunately, this bill was passed unanimously and after approval from both houses is now awaiting the approval of the president. This step will pave the way for security agencies to act more effectively against terrorists. However, it is still unclear whether this step is really an effort to appease the terror-stricken citizens of this country or just an eyewash. Only time will tell if this step brings any improvement in the overall security situation of the country. Until then, the citizens will keep on burying their dead and soothe their injured without any help from government, which has failed them countless times during the last five years.
The writer is a development consultant. She tweets at @GulminaBilal and can be reached at [email protected]