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Violence fears in Pakistan after Imran Farooq's murder
"This is the most tragic event in the history of our party", says a red-eyed Farooq Sattar.
Mr Sattar is head of the MQM's leadership in Pakistan. He was speaking to the BBC in a small crowded room in the ancestral home of the now-deceased Imran Farooq.
Sitting beside him is a frail and weary looking Farooq Ahmed - father of the slain MQM leader.
We had arrived a little earlier at the Farooq residence in Karachi's middle-class neighbourhood of Sharifabad. Located near the heart of the city, it is made up of apartment complexes - and small three-storey houses. The Farooq residence is just such a building.
Hundreds of grim-looking mourners are packed into the narrow lanes leading up to the house.
There is also a great deal of anger, although it has been muted so far.
Security is tight - there is a strong presence of paramilitary rangers and police.
MQM activists have also set up several checkpoints where all cars and pedestrians are thoroughly searched.
We have just driven down from the nearby MQM party headquarters. There were fewer people there, but just as tight security.
The party leadership in Pakistan is now debating what should be their future strategy.
Cause not accomplished'
Despite the fact the murder took place thousands of miles away, there is real fear here.
After many years of relative calm, it appears the MQM is once again feeling under siege.
"I spoke to my son a day before the incident - he was fine and spoke cheerfully," Mr Ahmed says.
Sitting on a bed across from him is his wife Raeesa, who breaks out in tears at the mention of her dead son's name.
"My boy was a good man - he only fought for the poor and underpriviledged," she says.
"I was so afraid for him when the operation started - but was happy when he appeared in London.
"Even though he was so far away, at least he was safe."
Both parents say the last time they saw their son was back in May 2009.
"He was happy with life and committed to his work in the party," his father says. "On Wednesday, he was telling me how his children were doing - he was quite pleased."
However, he refrained from commenting who might be behind the murder: "I can't say who was responsible."
He does add something rather cryptically.
"The situation is still the same, " Mr Ahmed says, referring to MQM's struggle against he country's status quo. "The cause for which he was fighting has not been accomplished. Being in the government was never the goal."
Terrifying consequencesHis mother, however, breaks down in tears again.
"He was a patient humble boy - he was always worried about my health," she says.
Outside, neighbours and well-wishers express similar sentiments.
"He was a quiet and well-behaved young man," say Faiz Mohammad, an elderly man. "I remember meeting him in the streets and he was always very polite. The charges against him were all rubbish - the army manufactured them to malign him."
Ruksana, a young woman who was amongst the mourners, says that "Farooq was an inspirational leader".
"We want to say to Altaf Altaf Hussein [MQM leader], we are with you and you should not feel alone," she adds.
Meanwhile, emotions continue to simmer as some MQM leaders say there could be trouble if a connection is established with Pakistan.
"Our leaders continue to be killed despite the restraint we have exercised," says deputy parliamentary leader Faisal Subzwari. "We are committed to the peace in Pakistan, but some forces have not accepted our anti-feudal policies and continue to target our leaders."
Despite such provocations, Mr Subzwari says the MQM has shown great restraint.
But if connections are established between Pakistan and Mr Farooq's assassin, that may be soon be swept away.
For Karachi, and Pakistan, the consequences are terrifying.
Indian police kill 4, wound 30 in Kashmir Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/09/15/india-kashmir-violence.html#ixzz0zhWGix00
Indian police opened fire Wednesday on Muslim demonstrators in a Kashmir town, killing four people and wounding 30 as leaders of India's main political parties debated how to end months of separatist protests in the region.
The new clashes came two days after 18 protesters and a police officer were killed in street battles — the worst outbreak of violence in Kashmir in months of anti-India unrest this year.
In response to those protests, which were exacerbated by reports of a Qur'an desecration in the United States, authorities slapped a round-the-clock curfew across Indian-controlled Kashmir and threatened to shoot violators on sight.
The Qur'an issue resurfaced Wednesday, when thousands of protesters assembled close to a Christian school in the town of Mendhar, 180 kilometres southwest of Srinagar, Indian Kashmir's main city, chanting "Down with Qur'an desecrators" and "We want freedom."
Police fired tear gas and swung batons as the protesters tried to enter the school and used live ammunition when the crowd refused to disperse, a police officer said. At least four protesters were killed and 30 others wounded, six of them critically, he said.
Angered by the deaths, hundreds of people arrived from neighbouring villages and torched a court complex, a post office, a police headquarters and other government buildings, the officer said.
Meanwhile, protesters defying the curfew in Srinagar were met with tear gas, and separatists burned two government vehicles in the southern town of Shopian, the officer said.
PM calls for 'dialogue and discussion'
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gathered the country's top political leaders Wednesday to appeal for new ideas for dealing with the protests.
Speaking at the start of the meeting, Singh accused separatist groups of orchestrating some of the violent protests. He appealed for calm in the region and said the government was willing to talk to any group that did not espouse violence.
"I have said this earlier and I say it again: The only path for lasting peace and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir is that of dialogue and discussion," he said.
The meeting, which lasted more than four hours, ended with an agreement to send a delegation to Kashmir to hear opinions from all sides, according to a statement released afterward. The government will take the delegation's report, as well as the opinions expressed in the meeting, into account when it determines what to do in the region, it said.
Separatist leaders dismissed the gathering as a public relations ploy.
"The meeting is a cosmetic and halfhearted measure," said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. "Our focus continues to be on the bigger issue of resolving the Kashmir dispute."
Since 1989, a violent, separatist insurgency and the ensuing crackdown by Indian forces have killed an estimated 68,000 people. While that rebellion has been largely suppressed, public opposition to Indian rule remains deep, and the region remains heavily militarized with hundreds of thousands of troops, checkpoints along main roads, and harsh emergency laws still in force, creating further friction with the restive population.
The U.S. special envoy to Pakistan sought to highlight Washington’s aid efforts on Wednesday during his first visit since massive floods devastated one of America’s most important allies in the war against militancy.Richard Holbrooke stressed that U.S. support is focused on saving lives, rather than winning hearts and minds or pushing Pakistan to step up operations against al—Qaeda and the Taliban. He peppered his visits to two relief camps in southern Pakistan with reminders of just how much the U.S. has done.
“Our country has donated the most money and the most helicopters,” Mr. Holbrooke told a local official during a briefing at a relief camp run by the Pakistani army in a small cricket stadium in the Makli area of Sindh province.
“We do it through the international organizations, so it may not be as visible, but it is very big,” said Mr. Holbrooke, who wore a baseball cap for most of the visit that said “USAID- From The American People”, a reference to the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Other senior U.S. officials have also stressed that the flood relief is purely humanitarian. But even before the disaster hit, the U.S. was looking for ways to improve its image in Pakistan, a country where anti—American sentiment is pervasive despite spending billions of dollars in aid.
The U.S. has donated more than $260 million for flood relief and has provided 18 military helicopters to evacuate people and deliver food and supplies. It has also provided water purification kits and deployed mobile medical teams to help prevent the spread of disease.
But the scale of the disaster, which has killed more than 1,700 people and affected more than 18 million others, has overwhelmed both the international community and the Pakistani government.
Manzoor Ali Shaikh, the top official in Thatta, the district where Makli is located, told Mr. Holbrooke that he needs more food, water and shelter for the 500,000 displaced people camping out in his area. He also warned that the lack of proper sanitation was a “time bomb” of disease waiting to explode.
The floods first struck at the end of July following extremely heavy monsoon rains in the northwest. The floodwaters surged down the Indus River, submerging one—fifth of Pakistan at their peak, an area larger than England. More than 1.8 million houses have been damaged or destroyed, and at least six million people require urgent assistance to survive the next few months.
“My home was made of mud and bamboo, and it was totally washed way along with everything in it,” flood victim Bachal Lashari told Mr. Holbrooke. “I need money so that I can travel to my village and start over,” he said as he wove a traditional Pakistani bed in his tent at the relief camp.
Mr. Lashari and many of the other members of the camp fled from the area around Sujawal, a town of some 250,000 that was almost completely flooded at the end of August. Mr. Holbrooke swooped over the town in his helicopter as he made his way to the relief camp from the southern city of Karachi.
Much of the land for miles around Sujawal and Makli is still flooded, and it could take up to six months for the water to fully recede, said Shaikh, the local official. That means tens of thousands of people are going to remain dependent on the government and international groups for food, water and shelter.
The U.S. provided similar assistance when Pakistan was hit by a huge earthquake in 2005 that killed more than 80,000 people. That aid briefly helped boost public opinion of the U.S., but it has since declined, and 59 percent of the population now views the U.S. as an enemy, according to a recent Pew Research poll.
The flood relief could help improve the opinion of the U.S., but Washington has competition from Islamist charities that are also distributing aid. The area around the cricket stadium Mr. Holbrooke visited contained a camp run by Jamaat—e—Islami, an Islamic political party known for its anti—American views.
Mr. Holbrooke made an unscheduled stop at a camp run by Saudi Arabia as he made his way back to his helicopter from the cricket stadium. He briefly chatted with Faiz Mohammed, a farmer who fled Sujawal along with his wife and six children. At the end of the discussion, Mr. Holbrooke asked if Mohammed knew where they were from.
Mohammed shook his head, and Mr. Holbrooke said, “We are from America, and we are here to help you.”
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