Pakistan - Karachi - After the massacre

We woke up to the tears of the Ismaili community of Karachi on Thursday as they buried the men and women killed by terrorists at Karachi’s Safoora Chowk. Two more of the injured passengers succumbed to their injuries. The government had announced a day of mourning with all flags flying half mast, and round after round of meetings continued on Thursday. While the attack has drawn widespread condemnation from all quarters, it is the way the blame is being shifted around all possible quarters that makes clear that no lessons will be learnt. The Karachi police chief says there are two separate terrorist organisations operating in the city, one targeting police officials; the other members of minority communities. While the foreign secretary has suggested that RAW was behind the attack, the Foreign Office downplayed the possibility of the Islamic State being involved, saying there was no definite proof that the pamphlets found on the scene came from them. And of course, there have been all kinds of other conjecture floating around. The so-called paradigm shift claimed after Operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched was said to have, finally, shifted the primary focus of the state towards internal sources of terrorism. However, faced with the inability to come up to people's expectations over securing their lives against terrorism, the RAW trump card seems to be back in fashion with the leadership. However, for most observers, the attack carries the signature of other major Jundullah attacks: wear paramilitary uniforms, kill everyone and flee. It is – as has always been the case – in the protests organised by the civil society and left-wing political parties where questions have started to be asked over what exactly our security measures have been all about, and which way various operations are headed. 

While no one believes that all terrorism in the country would be solved within a year, who is being targeted and who is not is the key debate that has so far been ignored. In such a context, do we not need to indulge in at least a bit of introspection before jumping on the ‘foreign hand’ theories? Who is to blame for the fact that all six of the assailants got away from the scene? The fact is that this is not the first time this has happened. What is most unfortunate is that it will likely not be the last. Once the burial rites for the dead are over, once the media focus on the killings fades, we will be left with a terrifying situation. For months, it has proved impossible to get to the bottom of who is carrying out the attacks in Karachi and precisely how they should be ended. The Ismaili community itself bravely insists it will not bow under terror, with its board continuing with the examination process even as others halted testing for the day in the wake of the killing. The challenge now is to prevent the next attack. We have failed before as well. There is now no further room left for failure. We simply have to succeed if we are to save ourselves and prevent yet further havoc in our midst.