Carnage against Ahmedis in Lahore

Ahmedis are not Muslims. That's the popular belief and the only belief I have ever come across from orthodox Muslims of Pakistan. And because they call themselves Muslims, they are not termed as Kafirs (infidels). Therefore, a stage is set for explosive confrontation between majority of Muslims versus minority sects such as these. In popular Islamic terminology, they may well be referred to as Murtids. Now, the definition:

A murtid is a person who is a Muslim but has lately done something out of the box and termed as such. In simple words, if any Muslim denies the supremacy of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (salahu alihi wasalam) or has a belief such which denies him (salahu alihi wasalam) being the last Prophet of ALLAH, then that person is a murtid. Anyone doing that sort of a thing is to be killed immediately, as the historical sources point out to us. In fact, Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddiq (RA) ordered war against men who claimed to be prophets themselves. Much of his 2.5 years of service as the first Kalipha (caliph) was spent fighting against false prophets. Via extension, if we follow that historical perspective (and if you are a Sunni Muslim you are supposed to do just that), then it becomes binding on the present Government of Muslims to enforce a war against people who claim themselves Muslims but deny that Holy Prophet is the last Prophet of ALLAH [Ma'az Allah].

Having said that, it must be noted that Islam prohibits men from picking up arms against other men of whatever faith they may profess. It is not in their jurisdiction to kill, maim, torture or call someone kafir or murtid. In fact, that control should be with the government. It should be the government which should decide the fate of any individual or community. If everyone starts picking up arms against people of opposing faith, we will have the modern-day Pakistan in the making. And here I am pointing fingers at the carnage which was carried this past Friday, supposedly in the name of Islam but never mentioned, by the so-called Punjabi Taliban.

No wonder, there has been no comment from Sharif brothers on this tragedy, the saviours and faun-raisers of Wahabi / Deobandi sect of Islam, people who have carried out attacks across Pakistan killing everyone including Muslims without a remorse. What a slap on the government of Zardari.

Who burnt Boultan Market, Karachi

One of the most remarkable markets of Karachi, alas, is no more.

Did Shias burnt it to the ground, angry after their 43 members were blown up and distributed across M.A. Jinnah Road, Karachi? Did MQM did it to kick out the erstwhile Memons and Delhi Wallas from that place? Did India or Isreal or Blackwater did it? Aha, Blackwater.

My first and foremost view is that Shias, out of rush of blood and emotions, did the trick. They burned down the plastics market and the perfume market and all that and did not allow fire brigade to come in until very late in night when everything was ashes. CCTV footage, first shown by Mustafa Kamal on GEO, clearly shows that. These are the mourners, and as Mr. Kamal makes it abundantly clear to all and sundry, not the MQM jiyalas.

Shias, off course, deny charges. But cameras this time have proven beyond doubt that the crazy fire, which later caused losses into billions of rupees and thousands of shops burnt, were caused by Shia mourners. I also have first hand account of a friend whose friend was killed by the Shia mob. This mob was trying to set his building on fire. On resistance, Gilgiti Shia shot him dead and fled from the scene. Punjabi-dominated police, as is expected of them, did nothing to prevent the tragedy.

But Shias are telling us all that they don't carry all these chemicals needed to burn so many buildings. Well, fair enough.

You see, whenever something bad happens petty criminals and enemies of the state jump into the fray and do all sorts of nasty things. Their only purpose appears is to loot and run. That is not probably what happened as most of the property was burned and not looted. But the critical CCTV footage is being held back by MQM men. Not sure why. Perhaps because they are involved. Perhaps there is some other reason. Many from Boultan market have claimed openly that MQM wanted entire market to shift to Sohrab Goth to allow more breathing space to the city. This was off course not acceptable to thousands of shopkeepers, many of whom are some of the richest and oldest traders of this country. If that was what MQM wanted, they got more than their deal.

As far as India's involvement is concerned, no serious thinker is thinking about it. India has better things to do. It is focusing on how to break loose Baluchistan from Pakistan so that Pakistan becomes a weak state. It won't probably go about doing things in Boultan market.

What can I say about Israel. If a cockroach is found dead in Burewalla people claim that Israel's Mossad had killed it!

My cousin, Imran Kholia, explained his loss to Dawn paper, “My seven brothers and I used to sell wrist watches, cosmetic items, toys, optical frames and other items to support our families and 25 children. We had 22 warehouses located above our stores, which have been destroyed, except for an 80 sq foot area.”

“The tragedy is that my building wasn’t on fire when I had reached here at around 6:45 p.m. [on Monday]. We pleaded with the firemen to stop the fire raging close to our store, but they replied they had to refill their tanks. It took them more than two hours to get water. However, by 9:00 p.m., it was too late and the fire had spread,” explains Kohlia, who claims to have suffered a loss of Rs. 90 million, including property and goods.

“My biggest fear now is that I feel that the government may want to take over our property, which if you take into account the whole locality, is worth billions,” says Kohlia. “But come what may, we will resist any such attempt. We have been doing business here for generations and will continue to do so.”

I am probably thinking about Shias and MQM combined. They both have a track record of extreme level of violence and brutality. I call them Modern Yazeedis.

Eid Mubarak