BIASED MEDIA AND LYARI POLICE OPERATIONS

Editorial

For the last five days, the biased media dominated by the corporate media, had been distorting the facts about Lyari and its people and claiming that the operations going on against criminals and gang war personalities and not the law abiding citizens of this country. It is a fact that it was not targeted the criminals. Police is firing at the residences of the local people. Round the clock, TV reporters are distorting the facts and condemning the police force for not making any advance in any locality or killing all the political dissidents of the Government of the day. Almost every channel and TV network is toeing the same line that the criminals are resisting the police onslaught and they have no human and constitutional right to resist or to save their lives and protect from state terrorism that is supported by the powerful section of the ruling elite. On the day one, two persons were killed in police custody. Police claimed that they were criminals. Agonies of the local residents had been ignored and more emphasis is laid why the police are unable to eliminate the resistance from some parts of Lyari. The people are under complete siege. Police had blocked all entry and exit points of Lyari. There is water and food shortage. There is no electricity for the past one week and the media is not asking the authorities concerned to ensure availability of the basic amenities and services to the local residents trapped in exchange of fire. The biased media is also surprised over the strong reaction on Lyari operations all over Pakistan, mainly in interior parts of Sindh and Balochistan. Yet another aspect is that from where the local residents had brought weapons resisting the police force and why they are objecting to violation of sanctity of homes of the Pakistani citizens. It is the most ridiculous assertion on the part of Corporate Media. One of the former PPP leaders told a TV interviewer that they got weapons from the PPP Government and they were given licences to keep weapons for self-defence. We are using in our self-defence. Israel or any other enemy country had not provided them weapons, it is simple, he claimed. It should be added that the weapons is available and thanks to Army Generals of Zia Era who sold the weapons of Afghan Jihad in the cities and townships of Pakistan. Gun running is the biggest and lucrative business and the gunrunners must be enjoying the patronage and support of the power sections of the society simply to earn quick billions. Why they had not raised the same question to the MQM who it was holding entire Karachi hostage and at gunpoint by amassing weapons that had no example in our history. Dozens of truck laden with ammunition took rounds of the city and provided ammunition to MQM people. There were reports in the media that the Americans had provided many containers of US weapons to MQM and those containers in hundreds are missing from the Karachi Port and the MQM Minister for Ports and Shipping is said to be involved in the racket. The people had not forgotten the May 12 incidents in which MQM gunmen fired millions of rounds of ammunition in each and every streets of Karachi just to bar the Chief Justice of Pakistan making a visit to Karachi. It is on record and from where millions of rounds were fired and trucks carrying ammunition seen was on stand by providing ammunition to MQM gangsters. It is the MQM that is accused of killing tens of thousands of innocent people, all passers-by, during the Karachi troubles for the past quarter of a century. Each and every terrorist caught by the law enforcing agencies had confessed that each of them killed more than 100 innocent people. More than 90 percent target killers and terrorists caught by the security agencies and police had strong and close affiliations with the MQM and its top leadership. The share of rest of population is less than 10 percent. There is no other option for the Sindh Government to stop the Lyari Operation that it had started just to appease the MQM. The police force should be withdrawn immediately and people are allowed free movement. There should be no restrictions on supplying food and other essential commodities of daily use. It is the right of the people to choose their party for support and the people should not be intimidated by the State, its organs and the other fascist groups. PPP had lost its political constituency of Lyari by committing blunders and playing at the hands of MQM for petty political interest. No other person or group should be blamed for it.