HONOUR KILLINGS IN PAKISTAN

By: Aftab Ahmed Baloch

Background of the story… Like other Muslim countries, in Pakistan too honor killings enjoy larger public supports and killing of innocent girls & women in the name of honor or ‘ghairat’ is a widespread notion especially at peak tribal areas of interior Sindh, NWFP, Punjab & Balochistan. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported 636 honor killings in 2007. At least 61 victims were minors. Each & every year the figure is around 800-1000. Normally these murders are done by immediate blood relatives like fathers, brothers & husbands in various incidences like having an illicit relations, consuming love marriages without the will of a family, heir-ship / kinship property disputes and other domestic violence. According to official data presented in Pakistan’s Senate, more than 4,000 people were killed during the last six years in the name of ‘family honor’. In Pakistan, being an abode of rich cultural, tribal & Islamic impressions, temperament & psychology of different nationalities varies with regards to honor killings. Further while appreciating constructive cultural traits & practices; one cannot simply close his eyes to cruel traits & negativities like one as ‘honor killings’. In this man dominant society, these killings had been continued for long and may be from the time of stone-age. The difference is, before religious folding, these honor killings were done for punishment, revenge and just to save & reserve the alleged ‘respect’ in society, while later (after emancipation of religious dogmas), people also began to consider it as a source of thawab earning, pleasing God & implementation of Sharia Law as according to Islamic understanding, stoning to death, limbs decapitation, beheadings are ‘divinely’ inspired phenomena. Besides acid throwing in girls face is a mark of revenge & a favorite hobby for many nationalities in Pakistan. In case of any failure in romance, marriage refusal or for any other enmity, this barbaric act is done. Fundamentalists of many religions always expect their women (not men) to execute religious or cultural applications submissively but when they refuse to do so, Jews, Christians, and Buddhists simply opt for social boycott except some hard-lined Muslims, who choose killings to save the honor of family i.e. why this practice is quite alarming in Muslim countries especially in African / middle east regions, as compared to Muslim countries having higher literacy rates like Indonesia, Malaysia & Turkey. But one cannot always blame divine dogmas as the root cause for honor killings yet there are cultural / tribal elements too (as deeply rooted into various human civilizations) are by far the biggest motive. The example of Pakistan is worthy to mention in this case. For a better future, many Muslims migrate with their families to abroad in western countries or consume marriages with native women but in several cases, daughters, sisters & wives, were also killed, tortured or secluded in the name of honor by their fathers, brothers & husbands. There are several incidences like a Muslim father shot and killed his daughters (Amina and Sarah) in USA for honor. In UK, Norway and westernized Turkey, there are several incidents where immediate blood relatives killed their women & girls. The reason is that ‘free & immoral western life style’ are not acceptable for any immigrants specially for Muslims, or folks having deep religious, cultural, tribal understanding & background i.e. why even Red Indians, Australian aborigines still maintains their own identity. How different nationalities in Pakistan deals with this matter. What is the ratio of their tolerance, as allowed by their culture, their certain lifestyle. Here I categorized each & every nationality of Pakistan, according to their province (population-wise order):- 1) Punjabis 2) Sindhis 3) Pakhtoons 4) Balochs 5) Mohajirs 6) Other minorities 1) HONOR KILLINGS AMONG PUNJABIS: By nature Panjabis are very active & hardworking nation. Fun & entertainment, enjoying in a liberal manner is evident in their daily lives. They believe in strong family system. As a thumb rule, religion is not so much important for them, as compared to culture. Role of women as a mother, sister, and wife is very important and duly respected. Those who are living in cities are much liberal & open mind in contrast to village dwellers where women are dealt as an object. Example of world known Mukhtaran Mai is sufficient to support, where she was allegedly gang raped, with the approval of local un-official justice makers (jirga). Before coming into the fold of Islam, majority of Punjabis were Sikhs i.e. why they share the same cultural characters. During Indopak partition Sikhs had committed worst kind of Muslim genocide. According to their cultural symbol every Sikh carries a dagger & karpaan (a sharp needle like spear) with them. During slaughter, Sikhs invented new techniques of torture & murder, women were paraded naked & raped in mosques, Muslim’s holy book were tore in to pieces, man were slaughtered like goats, children/infants were thrown into the air and pierced with sharp spears, hot boiled eggs were also pushed into women’s vulva. Among Punjabis mass family slaughter, over trifling matters like property / family disputes are much common than any other province in Pakistan. After every 2-3 months, horrible news of serial killings breakout from many areas of Punjab, especially Gujrat is quite notorious for such kind of incidents where even infants are not spared in cradles. Basic disputes or bone of contentions in most cases are just piece of land, property, water sharing disputes & family matters, etc. In various cases these revenges run after generations to generations. The suicide rate is also high among Punjabis. Main motives of honor killings are as follows: 1) Getting married without the will of family or love marriages 2) Extra marital or Illicit relations 3) Bringing little dowry i.e. Jahaiz at the time of marriage 4) Chronic revenge over property sharing etc. 5) Poverty 6) Non-delivery of male child by a woman Most common method to kill an innocent woman in Punjab is to burn her alive (giving the impression as if the stove was blew out accidentally), for not bringing enough dowry or jahaiz at the marriage time, non delivery of male child and sometimes extra marital relations with other males becomes the source of murder. In 1998 and 1999, the commission reported more than 560 cases of women burned at home in Punjab, Serial killings of whole family are very common in Punjab. There appeared several horrific news of slaughtering or even chopping of body parts after killing and performing a bangra (a kind of victory dance) on dead bodies! Poverty is yet another reason for group suicides, where family guardians commit suicides through poison consumption, firing or jumping into the river, canal or well. However, killing of women in the name of ‘family honour; among Punjabis is ‘less’ in line of other nationalities like Pathans (the champions) or Sindhis (second in row), where this practice is a solemn belief or a ‘routine matter’. The mysterious psycho serial killer & pedophile of the century, Javed Iqbal, also belonged from Punjab, as according to his given statement he had molested, killed & diluted 100 boys children in acid drums! During his jail custody he was also killed or committed suicide. He was appeared in media in a most dramatic situation, first he wrote a letter to higher authorities & media for his crime details & proofs, which were also testified by the police, he then voluntarily presented himself to police but later, before any investigation begins, he committed suicide or killed in jail custody. Yet, no further investigation was done, after his death. Punjabis by nature are more liberal in case of women freedom, as their women observe less hijaab / pardaa. 2-3 decades earlier Punjabi villager’s women also used to wear dhoti i.e. a sheet of plain loose cloth which covers from naval to ankles. These people are festival lover and various festivals like Basant is equally popular in major cities of Punjab, especially at Lahore. Zinda Dilanay Lahore is a famous wording which is used for Lahoris. The city of Lahore has various theatres where dance & stage dramas are shown. Eateries, historical monuments like Shalimar Bagh, Shahi Mosque, Lal Qila are quite famous place in Lahore. Behind Laal Qila is an old prostitution centre, where one can find any girl of his choice. More importantly, prostitution is quite flourishing ‘trade’ among Punjabis, and in Pakistan they fulfil 90% ‘demand’ of the country. Among Punjabis female often get mixed up easily with other non blood relatives males & strangers. Punjabi girls like Urdu speaking Mohajirs freely opt for any job in every field, including places which are solely considered for males. Least to mention that Punjabis can be found all over world & in every nook & corner of Pakistan, than any other minority of country. If you find a milk-shop in each & major city of Pakistan, then it must be owned by a Punjabi, thanks to their population & ‘courage’. 2) HONOR KILLINGS AMONG PAKHTOONS: By nature Pakhtoons or Pashtoons are brave, polite, generous & painstaking nation. History revealed that no super power, be it Mughals, British, Russians or Americans could make them slaves. Mutual unity between them is very strong. Like Punjabi they also spread all over country, yet they are best known for their laborious type of jobs. As a mountain dweller, a typical Pathan is inflexible and ‘activist’ in every scope of his life be it religious extremism (as 99% suicide bombers are of Pashtoon or Afghan origin), friendship, sex (inter & cross both), revenge, honor killings etc. Role of a woman among them being as mother, sister & wife is important but in their weird culture, woman in any form whatever mother, sister or wife, are always subordinate to man. In case of any deviation, Pathans never forgive and are famous for their revenge. In case of honor killings, they are on the top of the list. Getting married without the will of a family or love marriages are equal to deaths. There are numerous cases, where such couples alongwith their children and infants were tracked down & finally brutally killed by immediate relatives.

When Hathora Group (group of serial killers who used large skull breaking hammers to kill) was active in Karachi city around 85s to 90s. During this horrible course most of groups & people scored their enmities & Pakhtoons were again the champs. These mysterious serial killings were horrible & had been continued for whole year, where family member’s heads were smashed brutally with huge hammers during midnight, after making them unconscious. Hundreds of innocent people including children were killed but what were the motives behind, is still unknown. Some says these incidences including initiation of bomb blasts in Pakistan were reactions of Afghan War & mostly Afghans were involved. We read many shocking stories in newspapers about Pashtoons barbaric revenges, serial killings, including killing of ones own mother in the name of ‘honor’. For a Pakhtoon, a word ‘Jirga’ (a local council of Pakhtoons to resolve quarrels) is thousands times holier than any other law in the whole world including laws of Islam. I had a Pashtoon friend and visited his native village somewhere in lawless northern tribal areas of Pakistan (Elaiqa Ghair). His grandfather was a warlord & chief of a Jirga. The old man, showing his double barrel gun, proudly spoke, ‘I myself ordered & killed several women & men’ found guilty by JIRGA, he further said that such execution is performed just after Namaz-e-Fajr with the consent of accused parents! To them, the worst thing is a love marriage, as one cannot even imagine about it. There are many stories that boy & girl fled to marry but eventually were killed by the JIRGA. ‘They cannot hide anywhere in the world’, old man said. In case of fleeing a couple, we assign several persons in different directions to execute them both. Usually the hiding heaven for such love birds is always Karachi, thanks to it densely population, but sometimes it doesn’t make any use, and couples are finally chopped to death! During my stay, I was also advised by my Pakhtoon friend to ‘Do no gaze women & girls & just keep your eyes down. In one of incidents in Karachi, a Pathan bus driver murdered his own mother & aunty being suspect of ‘immoral behavior’. Similarly a Pashtoon, security guard of our office revealed that ‘I came Karachi for earning with my family and whenever, I step outside my house; I lock my wife inside because I cannot trust her. On the other hand a Pathan is always a boy-lover. A female English journalist, who once trapped with Taliban in Afghanistan, also revealed this fact in her book. Why a Pathan always yearns for a boy?? While digging into typical Pathan traits, one can easily find the answer. The reason is ‘women are something forbidden item in Pakhtoon culture to be watched isolated, they are always wrapped in shuttle cock type clothes, cross male dialogues are extinct in Pakhtoon culture, besides majority of Pathans used to work outside their native villages in cities like Karachi without their families. Here they live in ‘dairaas’ i.e. a place where male Pathan lives together in groups and in dairaas, it is not wondering to find a boy for ‘group sex’. Once a European lady cyclist was on the mission to travel around the globe on bicycle. Prior entering into Afghanistan (an abode of Pashtoon), she travelled safely, but do you believe what had happened when she was paddling in Afghan territory?? She was gang rapped & her cycle was also damaged by folks. Later, when she was interviewed, she said, ‘I’ve no excuse for being rapped but why they broke my bicycle?? Besides above, it is also a famous joke that “when you are in Peshawar and some of your money (take it 100/=) mistakenly dropped, ‘Don’t bend to pick that’, or you will have to spend 1000/= more on yourself?” But now who dares to go Peshawar, which has become a suicide blasting place. 3) HONOR KILLINGS AMONG SINDHIS: By nature Sindhis are very loving, soft-spoken, polite & hospitable nation, they love their land, home & fields and don’t want to leave them in most cases. Role of women among them being a mother, sister & wife is very important. But here is a dark side too, while discussing honor killings they stand for no.2 after Pashtoons! and being a sister, wife or mother in their society is usually a ‘thankless task’. Killing sisters, wives & even mothers in the name of KARO-KARI is very common in Sindh. According to the KARO-KARI rules when a male and female whenever seen in suspicious, isolated condition or even talking to each other in physically alone would easily be identified as KARO-KARI and killed on the spot. The execution is mostly carried out through an axe or dagger; which always carried by typical Sindhis villagers according to their tradition. Sindhi word ‘KARO’ is used for male accused, and ‘KARI’ is used for female one. There is no age discrimination, be them 14-15 or 50-70, once declared as Karo Kari, not even God can save them. This barbaric law also comes under discussion in Pakistani Parliament, but no solution has been discovered, no judicial law in Pakistan is against this traditional law. It even supported by various politicians & tribal leaders in Sindh. In one year approximately hundred of murders are reported in Sindh and most of the victims were women, because male can easily escape from the scene. The Special Task Force for Sindh of H.R.C.P. (Human Resource Commission of Pakistan) received reports of 196 cases of karo-kari killings in Sindh in 1998, involving 255 deaths. However, most cases are never reported. A Sindhi male by nature is always suspicious & mistrustful to their sisters, wives & mothers. It is a saying in Balochi that WATI JENNEKKA SINDHIYA MADAY meaning never marry your daughter with a Sindhi. The male cannot allow that a stranger should talk to his sister or wife. To get rid of ones wife, it is very easy for a Sindhi to declare her as KARO KARI and a subsequent murder will take place. Apart from the fact, both Sindhis & Pakhtoon are famous for their x-ray visions for watching women & girls of other communities. Reach any public / picnic place in Karachi or interior Sindh, there you’ll find the proofs. Like Pathans, a Sindhi male is also often a boy-lover. “CHOKRO SUTTO AAHAI” is a quite famous Sindhi saying. It is sufficient to say that a 13-14 year old, good-looking boy cannot travel alone into interior Sindh, or he will be bleeding from…… It is also one of the traditions in Sindh to marry off one’s daughter to the Holy Quran or even with a Tree! Once this happened, she can never ever marry with any other male. While getting married a mature girl with little kids is another Sindhi custom. Cast & clan system among Sindhis is very strong i.e. why marrying outside the community is very rare. Personalized jails of Sindhi Wadayraas (Feudal Lords) are also common in Sindh, wherein poor peasants (harees) are kept in custody with their families and women are rapped. 4) HONOR KILLINGS AMONG BALOCHIS: The Balochs prior to two recent honor killings were enjoying good reputation, but after two incidents, it raised many eyebrows now. 1st incident was happened in Sui, when Dr. Shazia was gang raped & tortured in Sui, while she was posted there. After the misery, she finally decided to leave this country with her husband. Although, it was also rumored that some Punjabi army personnel were involved in this incident. The second incident is eye opener. When three teenage girls who planned to defy their families and marry men of their choice were buried alive in “honor killings” and even a Baloch senator defended this brutal practice. The girls were taken from their remote village, Baba Kot, in southwestern Balochistan, to a deserted area where they were badly tortured before being pushed into a ditch and covered with sand and stones. One was named as Fauzia Bibi, 18, but the other two – thought to be aged 14 and 16 – were not identified. When two older women – Jannat Bibi, 38, Fauzia’s aunt, and Fatima Bibi, 45, the mother of another girl – tried to protect the teenagers they were also buried alive. The assailants then fired into the air to deter anyone from approaching the scene. With these two exceptions, among Balochs as a general, there are minimal cases of Honor Killings. A role of woman in Baloch society is very important, especially role of a mother, as she plays an active and supervising role in her entire family life. However, the notorious Rehman Dacoit of Lyari was involved for killing his own mother for ‘honor’. Later he was also got killed alongwith with his fellows by Pakistani agencies. Now the guy is in the good book and his portraits can be seen on the wall. Besides, there exist history of killings & revenge in Baloch history too on minor disputes. A piece of land is often the prime reason. Like other tribal infested folks, a Baloch tribal leader (known as Waja) plays a key role for twisting the lives of ordinary people. Within strong cast & clan system, like Pashtoon & Sindhis, outside community marriages are rare & are not welcomed by Baloch community and forget about love marriages. But in city areas like Lyari, mushroom of love marriages within Baloch community (of lower cast) has begun to spread. With more incite with Balochs & Lyari, please refer to my Lyari based articles. 5) HONOR KILLINGS AMONG MOHAJIRS: Mohajirs or Urdu speaking nationality is those who had migrated from India to Pakistan after partition. From history, they don’t demonstrate such tribal or rich cultural background like other nationality in Pakistan e.g., Punjabis, Balochis, Sindhis or Pashtoon etc, as a result they don’t have certain hard & fast tribal rules to follow as most of them are well educated and on the key-posts in all-over country, specifically in mega metropolitan city, Karachi. For them, role of a woman is very important, yet in most cases they don’t follow joint family system and usually couples prefer to live as a different family after marriage. A wife or a mother is always performs a respectable key-role in their family, yet wives played their dominance over husbands. The reason is, among them dowry (jahaiz) is the sole property of wives. During marriage parents of groom demands their choice of dowry in form of gold, property, cars, cash & what not jobs or business set-up. Panic of parents grew when daughters are born in family, because after the birth the second immediate thing which comes in their mind is to collect as much dowry for her. So, among Mohajirs, a groom will always be subjugated by brides. The same trend goes for all nationality in Pakistan, except Sindhis & Balochs, where bringing dowry is the sole responsibility of grooms & not brides. Even there is a reverse cycle in Balochs & Sindhis i.e. brides parents demands gold (haq-e-meher) before Nikah ceremony, conditional amounts (duly mentioned in Nikah deed & payable in case of a divorce), dozens of stitched clothes, meal expenses etc. are also there. Honor Killings among Mohajir are quite rare and hardly found, because of awareness, education above all disappearance of tribal thinking. At Karachi, in every single house of Mohajirs, we can hardly find any illiterate person whatever male or female, education is compulsory for them, just like essentials of life. Ratio of education among female is also very high. Majority of lady job seekers in Karachi are Urdu speaking. Mix family get together, love & outside family marriages are also very common, yet like Indians women in lower class are always targeted & tortured for not bring enough dowry or Jahaiz. Domestic violence, divorce ratio among Mohajir couples are common as compared to other tribal nationalities. The concept of ‘Ghar Damad’ is also a popular term within Mohajirs, where daughters after marriages are not departed but accommodated & supported with their husbands too. Due to craze of higher education, yearning for higher standard of living, among Mohajirs marriages are done in overdue period. Usually marriages are consumed at the age of 30-40 & sometimes even late. Marriages are done when male individuals (grooms) must have a sufficient job, capability to own separate home / apartment with all fixtures / luxuries, minimum motorbike requirement, on the other hand Mohajir girls before her marriages earn money through jobs for collecting dowry but doing all these, finally the peak ideal age for marriage is passed away. That is why among them parents of ten year old child will be in their 40s or 50s, as compared to parents of other communities, who soon become grandpa or grandma in their middle where marriages are consumed at an early age of 17-20 year. In Baloch & Sindhi communities, usually boys & girls start their marital life at an early age & in many cases even fathers support them financially, before boys even begin to earn. During research & survey it is also revealed that adultery or extra marital sex are also the outcome of late marriages because nature doesn’t understand the ethical or divine codes. 6) HONOR KILLINGS AMONG OTHER MINORITIES: There are also other minorities / mixed nations, living in Pakistan, e.g. Saraiki, Hazaraywal, Katchi, Memon, Bohra, Agha Khani, Afghanis, Hindu, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Bengalis, Burmese etc. Among these many are mixed, like Saraiki are the outcome of Punjab/Sindh fusion, they have amalgamation of mixed culture of Punjab & Sindh, yet many of them are not permanent settlers but nomads. Many of Saraiki ladies sell different food items in various part of Karachi like in Gulshan & Saddar etc., mong them there are also beggars. In their family set-up, usually female have dominancy over men yet there are rare cases of Honor killings. Hazaraywal are some sorts of Pakhtoon, but slightly have different language & culture. Their males are too hard nuts but much clever as compared to Pakhtoon which are simple & honest people. For Hazaraywal women are conquered thing. There is also a famous quote for them that ‘Hazara mushkil guzara’ meaning it is hard to live with a Hazara individual. Memon, Katchi, Bohra, Agha Khani are dwellers in Karachi. Originally they belonged from India. Their forefathers were either Hindus or Parsis (in case of Agha Khani). These people are in minorities. Memons are known as a successful business community. They have their own stead & fast community rules. A marriage outside community is an impossible thing for them. In case of any rare violation, they simply opt for social boycotts instead of ‘honor killings’. However, in Karachi an incident of killing was occurred when a corrupt rich boy (Yasin Bawani) from Memon community rapped & burned to death a poor house-servant girl (Shaista). Later the accused was released from the Court of Law!! Like Makranis, Katchis were early fishermen in coastline of Sindh. Like their close native (Memons), they have too hard & fast community rules to follow. In Karachi, Katchi Memon communities jointly work together for their betterment. Yet unlike Memons they are a bit of violent and in case of rare violation, they opt for torture & even killing. Bohris by nature are religious, isolated, and shy community. Like Memons they have too strictly follow their culture. In case of any violation, they simply opt for social boycott & ejection from community. Agha Khanis are some sort of modernized, educated & wealthy business community. There are zero ‘Honor killings’ yet marriages or any kind of outside community relations are extinct. Afghanis are close cousins of Pakhtoons yet they are known for their cruelty & barbaric approach towards women. They are living as an illegal immigrant in Pakistan since Soviet Afghan War. The ratio of honor killings between them is widespread. Hindus, who are living as minor community in Pakistan, shares the same traits of Indian Hindus. Women are known to be objects for men which are evident from Hinduism culture like once as Satti, where a widows were burned alive alongwith their deceased husbands. They also don’t hesitate to kill, if any girl or women violates, the same goes for Sikhs which are much less numbers in Pakistan. Christian & Parsi minorities in Pakistan also reflects same notion and there are zero honor killings, except among lower cast Punjabi Christians where women’s torture are common. Karachi being an illegal immigrants paradise, there also live Bengali and Burmese which have occupied places like Bilal Colony, Korangi & Machar Colony. Most of men & women work as a labor force in the city. Honor killings are never reported but like other Asians, torture over domestic violence are much common. For more insights about these minorities please refer to my article: ‘Karachiwalay and their characteristics’ & ‘the New Lyari’ .

++++++++++++++++

27th December 07

By Aftab Ahmed Baloch

BEFORE THE STORY BEGINS… As long as the history of Pakistan is recalled, this day will be referred to as the darkest day of Pakistan, when Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto (the former democratically elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, the daughter of East, the most powerful lady of the Muslim world was assassinated. When the mystery is still shrouded with so many questions & secrets to be revealed, like previous customary secrets of ‘assassination series’ in Pakistan where various known figures had been killed & their file were closed forever e.g. first prime minister: Shaheed Liaquat Ali Khan, Shaheed Murtaza Bhutto, former dictator Ziaul Haq, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Hakeem Muhammad Saeed, Mir Murtaza Bhutto and the great Baloch leader like Shaheed Akbar Bughti (former Chief Minister of Balochistan) who was also among the pioneers in Pakistan movement. Murder of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto is being assumed as a crucial loss for entire nation because there was & is an acute lack of able leadership in Pakistan. The incident have not only changed forever the history of Pakistan, caused out of boarder upshots but above all has permanent impacts upon lives of individuals, as this unexpected occurrence had caused worst kind of riots & ethnic violence in the history of Pakistan, where several hundred innocent peoples were killed, let alone collective or personal financial damages which were in millions and never compensated by Pakistani government. This was the ‘fate deciding’ day for many families in Pakistan, which cannot be undo now. On that day, criminals, gangs, rapists including raged party workers well made the use of their inner evils. The dance of evil had been continued for almost 3 days in all over country especially in Karachi & interior Sindh (i.e. areas which are considered as PPPs vote bank). For 3-4 days all kinds of business & official activities in all over country, especially in Sindh Province were totally shunned down. This was the day in Pakistan after which the concept of ‘who is who’ and impressions of nationalities and communities went off deeper rather dreaming for a single nation, which is quite obscure now. Only after these incidents, provinces like Balochistan & Sindh are openly claiming for ‘independence’..The writings on the wall.. Many stories of 12/27 riot survivors later appeared in electronic & print media. In this article, I’ll try to reflect my own one to one eye accounts, besides facts, which were not disclosed in media i.e. how after the incident of Benazir’s murder at Rawalpindi (which was even kept secret during initial hours in the media), gradually most horrible riots erupted like a wildfire in the city. How police, law & order agencies were totally absent from the streets. How in Karachi, survivors after so many hours of brain torture & fear reached their homes … How families in cars looted by criminals, public & private vehicles were torched, lone women & girls (who had been lost / abducted & gang raped for whole night. How godowns, warehouses, shops, vehicles were looted by the masses & set ablaze. The conclusion of my article will not be in usual political, geographical tone (as much have already been written & available on-line), but in a more diverse ‘philosophical insights’… PLAY POINT… As event of assassination happened at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi, when she was about to leave the public meeting place in the evening of Thursday, December 27, 2007 around 6-7 p.m. and it was a usual peak working day in all over country. In Karachi city too after exhaustive routine work, people were heading towards their homes. Various people including women & children on their way from homes or were coming from Offices, factories, shopping centres, bazaars etc. I was too heading towards Gulshan from my office, when I reached near Metropolitan Hotel, it was already 7.20 p.m. After two earlier bloodiest incidents in the city I made it my habit to check the news updates on internet before leaving my office. And then now there were no news of her murder, except a bomb blast at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi. These two bloodiest incidents were of May 12 & Oct. 18, 2007. Before I resume my topic, let me have few words on these two events too. On May 12, 2007 the sacked Chief Justice, Iftikhar M. Chaudri (now he has been restored to his previous position) was arriving in Karachi city to address at the Lawyer’s Bar, but he even never succeeded to come out of the airport, owing to crucial situation in the city, when terrorists of different political parties, especially of MQM had already taken over the control of city. A large number of people were killed during straight firing at Sharea Faisal, Karachi. The Pakhtoons party was in favor of welcoming Chief Justice while Urdu speaking (MQM folks) under the auspicious of Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf were against this idea. The result was worst kind of ethnic cleansing & death tolls. The day 12th May, 2007 is now celebrated as the bloodiest day in Pakistan. The second bloodiest encounter happened in the same year at October 18, when Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto after a long time, was arriving from Dubai and she was proposed to speech at Mazar-e-Quaid, but she also never reached her destination, as there was complete black-out in the city, apparently MQM (the ‘sole owner’ of the city) is again looks involved in the scheme. When her procession was near Karsaz, a sudden bomb explosion caused hundreds of peoples, including majority of youths from Lyari as brutally killed. Victim’s body parts were ripped apart in several kilometers. The number reaches at mind blowing figure of 250-300. So it was around 7.20-7.30 p.m. the place was near Avari Tower, towards Sharea Faisal. There was total darkness as street lights had been switched off, people were already terrified, because of previous incidents & the news of Benazir ‘s murder was not yet broke out by the media, then suddenly a car driver shouted: ‘Benazir damakay men mari gaee!! (i.e. Benazir was killed in a Bomb Blast). The news received people’s sudden panic & shock . Everybody was helplessly trying to contact their homes but in vain, as all mobile phone networks were jammed. I also tried to contact my family but of no avail. Now every car driver tuned on their FM radios to listen more details. Traffic was moving inch by inch, there were no traffic constables, police or rangers, people are on the total mercy of criminals & thieves. Gradually news of riots was also breaking out and everybody was in a hurry and in panic. People just wanted to reach their homes at all costs. There were hue & cry on roads, cars horning, people cursing each others. Bikers were trying to pull their bikes over footpaths, mini buses were being emptied and people were walking on roads. I was too somehow managing to drive on footpaths like other panicked bikers. When I reached near Jail Chowrangi from Tariq Road, the time was 9.30 p.m.! i.e. it took 2 hours from Avari Tower to reach at Jail Chowrangi. BUT…. something was wrong there, people on streets including barefoot girls without duppata were screaming & running. O God! Ahead of 50 foot, raged mob were forcefully vacating buses / mini buses, cars, smashing windscreens, motorcycles & torching them. They were equipped with weapons. Some criminals by benefitting the situation were also looting vehicles, purse & mobiles from helpless public. The dance of evil had just begun. Some people were also looked wounded. It was simply the sight of doomsday (qayamat). Women & children were screaming in fear, no time for help, no security, complete lawlessness; the road towards NIPA was blocked by evil protestors & terrorists. Until next 2-days, there were no proper police patrolling and angry mob also torched Askari Park.

Now the traffic was diverted towards Liaquat National/Agha Khan Hospital Road, I also took it granted & turned my bike swiftly towards the direction. Noises were slowing down. Again inch by inch movement, when traffic reaches in front of Liaquat National & Agha Khan Hospitals, an elder biker fell on the road some youths including me stopped for a while to help him. He was unconscious & looked a victim of heart attack, we tried to give him first aid but of no use as people behind us, continuously shouting with rage ‘Choro is budday ko jaldi yahan say nikalnay ki karo, halaat bohot kharaab horahay hen’ (meaning: leave this old man alone, situation is getting worse, get out of the way)... Simply nobody was ready for a rescue, and then some volunteers carried him to Liaquat National. Again I checked cell’s network there was no signal yet, except the time indication as 10.10 p.m. I was thinking that my family must be disturbed, as they would be watching ‘breaking news’ on TV. We were again on our way; it is just before the civic centre bridge. Suddenly at yards distance two roughs were seen dragging a helpless girl, everybody noticed but did nothing, as each & everyone is fighting for its own survival. Roughs with helpless girl were disappeared in one of the office buildings. The selfish approach had already overtaken everything…

On top of the bridge fire was erupting, a mini bus was just lit by angry protestors. It heat was so intense that instead of a cold night of December, I was sweating. Now there is no chance to climb up on the bridge. I thought, as it is the last day of my life. Seeing the situation people had stopped to cross the bridge. Agay jana mushkil hai, (it is impossible to move further) one of bikers said. Bhai moat ko dawat daina hai. (It is likely inviting death!). Bike yaheen chore dayten hen (leave bike here). Finally I decided to sacrifice my new bike too. Nearby civic centre is a service road, where people were parking their bikes on the mercy of criminals. I also decided to leave my bike and walk home, as it was quite better option to leave the infested place now. I parked & locked it with cable chain. I was quite sure, that sooner it would also be torched like others. I must get the hell out of there. After leaving my bike on the mercy of God, instead of approaching from the bridge, I decided to walk down roadside, as I had to reach to Gulshan railway crossing. Everybody was escaping, some helpless women were trying to fetch a rickshaw, but no rickshaw driver was willing to carry her. Firing & torching still continued. Rascals with weapons were roaming freely on roads, looting & torching everything on their way. Somehow, I managed to cross the road, from Expo centre. As soon as I crossed, exchange of firing started, I ran as fast as I could, while bowing my head down. There were also other peoples, running for their lives, some people were watching from their apartments, and enjoying the ‘live show’. When I reached some safer distance, I checked my mobile again, the signals were ok & the screen was displaying numerous miscalls! Some of them from my house, including some unknowns. I immediately contacted home, it picked up in no time, it was the voice of my daughter, she was continuously weeping, and she asked ‘where are you papa? Benazir is killed in a bomb blast! We were terribly upset by the critical situation of the city. I told them that I’m fine & just a few yards walking distance away, don’t worry for me. Finally I reached home, family members vehemently welcomed as if I was coming abroad. In violence, much damage had been caused all over country, especially in Sindh province, as what TV is showing. Suddenly my cell rang again, the number was same unknown. I picked it up. The other side was a youth of our old neighborhood, who had been working somewhere near Liaquat National Hospital. He cried that he is with his office companion & badly trapped in riots. He asked me to pick him up from the roadside as he cannot go to violence infested Lyari. Now, I was given a task to pick the guy from roadside. My brother alongwith his children have also been trapped at our home. May be thousands of people remain trapped in each other’s homes, offices & factories., Although it was too risky to step outside at that moment of violence, but we were bound to pick him up anyway. The firing was still continued outside.. We had to reach near Expo Centre, where our Lyari fellow has to be dropped by his office companion. As I had already left my bike on the mercy of rioters at Civic centre, we walked on foot. The distance towards Expo Centre passed safely. The main expo centre road was giving empty look, except some panicked bikers & private car drivers. Some smoke emitting old tires, bikes & mini buses were still lying on roads. My panic was growing, as our friend didn’t reach yet. I kept giving him miscalls. Finally he reached over bike with his office colleagues. He looked upset & worried; I thanked the guy, who left him safe & sound. Now we’ve to hurry & must move from here, I told them. When we reached near Gulshan railway crossing, firing had erupted. Some rascals on four wheelers, equipped with automatic weapons, were spreading harassment. People were fleeing for their lives, we too ran as fast as we could. Far & wide, there was no existence of police or rangers. By some means, we changed our root & reached home safe & sound. Now after these entire minds blowing incidence clock was giving a time of 11.40 p.m. Our Lyari friend also informed his home and they were all thankful to us. They continued to leave with us for further 3-4 days, finally the erupted lava of agitations came down & they leave for Lyari. RIOT TALES FROM LYARI & ELSE… Riot tales, on account of Benazir murder was worst in the city. Various warehouses, godowns/stores, shops (mostly belonged to Punjabi, Memons) were looted & torched. The poverty stricken Lyarites, which have always been kept on empty promises, fill their houses with looted grains, sugars, flour bags, mineral waters & what not! Various factories, alongwith their workers (who had been trapped because of city riots) were set ablaze. The incidents of gang rapes were also reported by the witnesses, near Bin Qasim & other far flung factory areas. But media never reported them. The innocent daily worker women & girls were the primary victims. On that day of 27th December, 2007 many families who had been waiting for their beloved, never found them alive! Various taxi, rickshaw drivers were killed & their vehicles torched for the unseen crime, worst part is they were never compensated by government or any agency; as a result their family members are still suffering for the incurable miseries. Perhaps for them the life will not be normal again, NEVER! CRUX OF THE STORY.. What I want to convey that what we do in this world, be in a negligible form has its impacts, sometimes worst, sometime unnoticed. Worst in a case that unending series of chain disruption occurred, causing many lives at stacks, beyond control of human being. Sometimes the decision of an individual is the prime factors. Just look at various Wars, miserable events of the world, mostly of them were started with trivial matters. Benazir murder too must have been decision of an individual or groups, but what was the OUTCOME, is evident to all..

Mysterious ‘chain disruption’ can be also be understood in a technical daily life manner. For example, you are riding on a bike, the chain is most important part of any bike, and it runs wheel from engine movement. Suddenly a single link (may be negligible if lying alone) is broken. What would happen?? The worst outcome could be the fatal accident, costing your life, if you are riding on a busy fast road, as a truck could crush you, or in other cases, you could be late to reach your proposed destination, which may be further linked to other events & people or group of peoples.

Further these reactions are not surprising but a common instinct of human being. Whenever a revolution, war or anarchy like situation erupts in any part of the world, the reactions in form of mass revenge, murder, rape, looting speak of its worst kind. Human history is full of such bloody incidents. Be it French revolution, 1857 Indian Independence War, Nazi death camps of Auschwitz, Russian attacks over Afghanistan, Algerian or Indonesian massacre, China Taiwan massacres, Vietnam War, East/West Pakistan separation, Gulf war, 9/11 & the recent Iraq / Afghan War, routine suicide bomb blasts in Pakistan….

Amazingly, in all these situation, all moral, ethical, theistic, conscious norms become meaningless and human being demonstrate as it’s nastiest. Here again the question arises that in such cases what are the role of religion, culture & consciousness? Because in each & every worst case ‘mean behavior’ always overcomes every earned traits of human being.

The entire universe including its natural principles is established on delicate balances. These delicate balances are called ‘divine & pre-planned’ by THEOLOGIANS and ‘accidental / evolved’ by AGNOSTICS. Whatever they may be, but each & every disruption from human being to alter these ‘delicate balances’ has its own price & consequences, some less & some higher.

If we throw a pebble in one part of the ocean, it creates impulses to the other part, while it is quite another story that whether we are capable to measure the impacts or not.

We cannot undo the past events which are responsible for current events. We also understand that for any event to take place there must be numerous events in the past which make this event possible. Each event is a culmination of innumerable events in the past as well as forerunner of some other event in the future. It is impossible for human being to change the course of events, the ‘chain reaction’ since the causes of those events lie not in his domain but in the whole of the past of the universe i.e. what is called as a FATE or destiny.

But revolving around ‘fate’ our freedom is only limited to the actions we take but not to the outcome of that act.!! This sounds logical because the outcome of any act depends on so ‘many factors’ that one cannot realistically hope to have control over all those factors but becomes part of it. That is why even the best laid plans of the mightiest and most intelligent people turn to dust. ********************

FUNERAL OF THE SEA GIANT VESSEL & GADDANI’S ENVIRONMENTAL HAVOC

By Aftab Ahmed Baloch

It was the second largest ‘floating sea object’ after Jahre Viking…, built by French.., once used to carry half a million tons of crude oil from the waters of Saudi Arabia to United States!…., with a mind blowing weight of 555,000-tonns!, longer than the Eiffel Tower (about 1400 ft), higher than a 10 story building!…, wider than a Tennis Court…. As we heard the news of her arrival that she is being dragged to Gaddani (the second largest ships graveyard in Asia) for her final doom, so we had decided to reach at any cost from Karachi. At first, we were quite mesmerized by the enormous size of the ship, as ever built by human being. The scrapping process of the ship had already taken place, when we reached there, the outer shell of the ship along with the first tank had already been slashed down, yet the horizontal expansion was still enough to scare us, which is presenting the view of a gigantic castle or a giant wall, but it is true that the death of giant tanker had brought jobs for daily workers. There were noises of cranes, welding machines, vehicles movement. We were asked to be careful at sight, as any piece of iron could crash us. According to the news source, the ship was obtained by M/S Usman Enterprises as a ‘scrap for’ US$25.5 million by winning the contract. Infact, we visited there on Sunday, but the cropping job was still on boom, workers/labors were engaged in dismantling process through gas cutters, cranes etc. The security Incharge allowed us to roam at the site at our own risk, every where there were pieces of iron sheets, rusty pipes & junks, the sand was covered with residual oil and a pungent gassy smell was also noticed us, yet the magic of Sea Giant had overcome all troubles & fears. Other plots, apart from the sight of Sea Giant, were showing the worst picture of environment. Several dead fishes, wooden leftovers of ships were scattered all over the shore showing the lack of proper cleaning & maintenance. The labors were engaged without any safety measures & protectors like without wearing safety helmets, special clothes, goggles or gloves etc, seems like worker’s safety is clearly not the ‘top priority’ job at Gaddani. Various organizations & worker’s association had shown their concern over meager safety measures for workers & threat to environment but of no use.

Some Baloch dwellers, unaware of the devastating environment, were busy in fishing, hanging on a slashed deck of a rusty ship. Upon enquiry, one of the person, spoke that emitting oil and gassy chemicals from the ships have forced them further offshore in search of fish and have also caused stomach, eye and respiratory troubles, he also explained that at night there is no street lights, because the government or the owners of the ship-breaking industry have no interest, they don’t care about labor’s rights, except earning money…. An out-dated Oil Rack was also there, waiting for his final fate…, the sun was just setting in the middle of oil rack which was suddenly captured by me. When we were walking outside the ship’s graveyard towards the darkening road, the Titanic’s favorite song echoed in my imagination: “My Heart goes on…..

For interest of the readers: Presently the world’s largest Oil Cargo or King of the Tankers is Jahre Viking, having a length of 1,503 feet long with 226 feet wide!, claiming the tonnage of 565,000! The second largest is China’s Emma Maersk, carries a length of 1302 ft, and 207 ft wide. All these ships are unable to negotiate with Panama or Suez canal. The current largest passenger ship is the Queen Mary II, having a length of 1132 ft & width of 134 feet, while Voyager of the Seas and the Explorer of the Seas, both are 1,020 feet long and 158 feet wide!, with a tonnage of 140,000 and carry roughly 3,000 passengers with crew, run by Royal Caribbean International Cruises.

Oasis of the seas is another entry into the passenger line ship, having a length: 1181 ft, and 154 ft wide, claiming a capacity of 5400 passengers!!

The legendary Titanic, was not popularized until after the incident & its movie by James Cameron . It was only about 883 feet long, 93 feet wide, and weighed 45,000 tons, with the facilities of a squash court, swimming pool, and a gymnasium. She could hold 3,500 passengers with crews but life boats were too short roughly for 1,000 passengers i.e. why worst kind of catastrophe had happened. It was claimed that ‘Not even God could sink that ship’ but what had happened….It was sink in its very first trip. In future there is also planning to build aFreedom Ship (a floating city), the ever largest passenger vessel. It has a proposed length of 4,500 feet!, with a width of 750 feet, and a height of 350 feet, if built it would be more than 4 times longer than the Queen Mary II.

Ending Note: The Gaddani could be the fantastic visiting place for public too, as now & then ships are brought here for scrapping purpose like famous Sea Giant or Lady Diana’s Royal ships were brought for final doom. But perhaps mean money earners industrialists has no time for such stupid thinking, except making quick money.

 ****************

MANGHOPIR CROCODILE FESTIVAL & SHEDIS

By Aftab Ahmed Baloch It is almost over two days and nights; the Shedi devotees of Manghopir has been dancing and praying together with a rising frenzy of passion & piety. The fearless march towards the crocodile pond begins, people including women and children singing on the African drumbeat in a strange mixed language of Swahili & Balochi, even after generations to generations the ritual is unchanged. Finally they’ve approached the algae loaded water pond, where some pairs of crocodile eyes are floating on the surface. A chunk of meat from a freshly sacrificed goat suddenly thrown to ‘moro sahib’ (the chief of crocodiles, the eldest one). The creature gulps the chunk, and dives into the water! The obligation has been accepted. Everybody cries out with joy & dance with more zeal. Now people begin to feed remaining reptiles. The sacred fiesta continues for another 2-3 days, visitors come & offer fresh meat, pray at the shrine of Sufi Sakhi Sultan (Mangopir) and go away… this ritual has been happening for centuries. Dear readers this interesting place is nothing but Manghopir, a remote settlement of Karachi, names after Pir Mangho, a place of famous sufi shrine, a home to natural sulpher geyser or hot springs which have curative powers for skin diseases and the abode of crocodiles - believed to be the disciples of Pir Mangho. Balochs often call this place as ‘Mangi’ or Garm Aap (due to presence of natural hot springs). Mangopir’s dance & crocodile festival, probably unique around the world, which shows how this ancient African custom has blended with Islamic mysticism & Balochi culture!

SHEDIS & FESTIVAL: Before, I cut open mysteries of the festival & its roots, let me tell you something about Shedis, one of the Pakistan's smallest ethnic community with dark-skinned, curly-haired, who are said to be the descendants of African slaves brought from Zanzibar and vigorously maintains their distinct African identity in the midst of the dominating South Asian cultures. Presently, these African-Pakistanis live in various part of Pakistan like in Karachi (Lyari, Malir, Moaach Goth, Manghopir) and some in interior Sindh at Badin and in Balochistan at Lasbella etc. but majority of them are living in Lyari, due to the fact, this place is often called ‘Little Africa’. In Baghdadi, Lyari (an abode of such ethnicity) there are places which named after Shedi Village or Nairobi. During the British rulers or even before, Baghdadi and many areas in Lyari functioned as the colony of slaves. Women from these minorities worked as nannies for the children of Hindu traders”. Later, these people amalgamated themselves with local Balochs and also adopted various Balochi & Islamic traditions, besides maintaining their own distinct African cultural heritage. For example, some African pro festivals like Gowaati, Layvaa (dancing across the fire), dhammal, beating Congo Drums & many witchcrafts are no doubt the only ‘things’ that still connects them to Africa! A prominent Urdu poet and Lyari citizen, Mr. N.M. Danish, proudly claims to be the great-great-grandchild of an African slave from Zanzibar. “Now after centuries of amalgamation, these peoples are proudly called themselves as Baloch. ORIGIN OF PIR MANGHOP / MANGHOPIR & CROCODILES:

The root of this festival is connected with Pir Mangho, originally is a Sufi saint Sakhi Sultan. Legend says that Sakhi Sultan (later known as Pir Mangho) was one of the disciples of Baba Farid, (a well-known saint of Punjab) who was so pleased with Mangho due to his devotion and meditation that he gave him the title of ‘Pir’, thus Mangho became a saint equally respected by both Hindus and the Muslims. The crocodiles are an integral part of the shrine and chronicle of the saint and are so tightly interwoven that it is almost impossible to judge between fact & fiction. There are many traditions about myth of crocodiles, like it is believed that Baba Farid Ganj-e-shakar gifted reptiles to Manghopir. Second myth is quite fictional, i.e. during a visit of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (who was also a celebrated saint of Sindh), in order to make the barren valley more inhabitable, had caused a hot spring to issue forth from the rock and a grove of date palms to spring up from the ground and the crocodiles were originally leapt out lice of Saint Baba Farid, which he then gifted to Pir Mango, to put them into the pond and then each turned into a crocodile! When according to some reasonable / scientific explanation, the crocodiles were introduced in Manghopir by Mor Mubarak (a saint), who brought them from a cave in Korangi, as a result, after the name of saint, the chief of crocodiles (the eldest one) came to be known as ‘Mor Sahib’.

Historians also told that these crocodiles were actually carried through with giant floods and later resided into this pond. Archaeological evidence also suggests the existence of a Bronze Age settlement (2500-1700 BC) in the vicinity, who used to worship crocodiles and before the advent of Islam crocodiles were also thought sacred for Hindus.

THE FESTIVAL & MAKING PLEDGES (MANNATS):

This unique festival is regularly celebrated every year during the 3rd Islamic month of Rabbiul-Awwal and runs for a week. The colorful rituals of the Shedi tribe also flavored this festival a uniquely African touch. The festival attracts many people of all ethnic groups, besides people make their mannats (pledges) at the shrine of Pir Mangho through offering fresh sacrificial meat (to the crocodiles ( the sacred disciples), so that their obligations can be fulfilled. Shedis also believe that the creatures do not harm the saint's followers. The highlight of the Manghopir festival also known as ‘Shedi Mela’ is the garlanding ceremony during which the gaddi nasheen (the holy successor) puts a garland, made of flowers around the neck of chief of crocodiles (the Mor Sahib). Success of this sacrament depends solely on the mood of creature. But according to it keeper, the large reptile obliges most of the time and voluntarily presents himself for the ritual, obviously chunks of meat do the job easy. As with almost all such holy shrines, Manghopir's shrine is also located on a small hill. Underneath small green painted tomb, the grave of Sufi saint remains uttered with embroidered silk fabrics (the Chahdar), the flowers & what not holy, while outside musicians with traditional instruments sing praises for the saint. The saint's followers are mainly Shedis, during the festival the tomb is washed with sandalwood and rose water. Outside the shrine premises, there are various stalls and mini-shops, selling knickknacks and items associated with the shrine.

Nearby is a pond, measuring about 400 feet long and 200 feet wide, which nourished by an underground stream, contains hundreds of crocodiles from six to seven feet in length. ‘Mor Sahib – the Chief of Crocodiles (the eldest one) is about 100 years old and over 12 feet in length. The flourishing breeding has made the pond too small for the expanding crocodile population, as crocodile is a rough & tough creature and famous for its longevity. Now, this great heritage is under threat due to the water shortage & space shrinkage. Some influential persons has also achieved illegal water pumping at the natural source of freshwater, resultantly, very little water trickles into the pond," During the week-long festival) among Shedis, a large number of people also arrive from all over Sindh, Balochistan and southern Punjab. There is much joy & fun around when caravans of devotees make their way to the shrine.

As the Sindh Auqaf Department, Govt. of Pakistan regularly appoints official caretaker for such shrines & holy places. These caretaking job normally inherited & family based, like son after father. This shrine too has a caretaker to upkeep crocodiles & the shrine. But as usual in Pakistan, the Auqaf department is not paying proper attention to this sacred & wonderful place except regular devotees, who flock to the shrine, and semi-aquatics get a regular supply of fresh meat. Anyone desirous of having his wish fulfilled, usually slaughters a goat or sheep and offers fresh meat to crocodiles. Large daigs of Biryanis are also cooked in different occasions for free distribution to visitors & beggars.

HOT / HEALING SPRINGS & OLD GRAVES: There are also hot springs at a distance of about kilometer from the shrine. Warm water passing through the sulphur rocks contains some medicinal qualities and many people with skin diseases reach here to have a bath for cure. Apart from local bathing ponds, there are also reserved hot bath facility for man & woman who can afford. Folks from long distances regularly visit here to cure themselves. Scientific analysis also shows that this warm water is naturally saturated with carbon dioxide, besides containing some sulpher elements which is no doubt possess antiseptic qualities for certain skin diseases. Nearby shrine, there are also beautiful graves made of engraved yellow stones, probably couple of hundred years old. These graves resembles to those found in Makli (interior Sindh), but now due to negligence the graves are in shabby conditions.

**********************