” VICE explores the seedy underbelly of this ultra-violent metropolis of more than eighteen million people, and meet the players who make Karachi one of the craziest cities on earth ”
Part 2/5: http://youtu.be/27CnlYGlFL0
Part 3/5: http://youtu.be/kkQ32S-urjQ
Part 4/5: http://youtu.be/yLfrK8irjtU
Part 5/5: http://youtu.be/YtIT3uUEgzE
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After the gruesome incident of terrorist attack on two (02) buses at Banaras Chowk which resulted in the death of ten (10) innocent persons and injuries to over twenty (20) persons, MQM announced Yum-E-Sog (mourning) late last night.
In addition to this, Karachi Traders Association (KTA) and Karachi Road Transport Association (KRTA) have also decided to keep the markets closed and public transport off the roads. Since morning transport has been scanty and markets and petrol pumps are closed.
Few incidents of firing have been reported in Golimar and Baldia resulting in deaths / injuries. Since morning July 08 youngsters have been observed stopping vehicular movement in Gulshan, Bahadurabad, Clifton, DHA Korangi Road, PECHS, Shaheed Millat Road, Garden F.B. Area, Azizabad, Nazimabad and North Nazimabad, therefore, play safe by restricting movements.
A blast was heard near PIDC a while ago. Friends from nearby localities have said they heard a very huge blast. Geo reports “A powerful blast in CID building near PIDC has rocked the buildings in the surrounding area. The powerful blast brought down the whole building of Central Investigation Department (CID) located in the most sensitive area in the central area of the metropolis. A powerful shock wave released by the blast also shattered windowpanes of a number of surrounding buildings”
Karachi is becoming more and more unpredictable every day. Today when everything seemed to be running smoothly, when all of a sudden around 3:30 in the evening a news alert announced 2 people being shot dead in the area near airport. I expected it to be the usual target killing which had been resulting in 2 to 5 killings every day in the city. But I was wrong. This killing had taken lives of members of a political party and their followers were not happy about it.
Minutes later reports of violence, firing and unrest started to pour in. I called in and smsed several of my friends, cousins, asking where their they were, updating them of the cities situation and hoping they reach home safe and sound. My eyes glued to the TV, panicking at every incident which would take place somewhere, some place near their possible path. My trauma lasted over an hour before everyone I was in touch with was home safe.
Exhausted by the time I dosed off for an hour, when I woke up I realized that the trauma and misery of the city had continued and had actually gotten worst. Over 9 vehicles were being reported to have been set ablaze, there was a report that one of the car was burnt with the driver still inside. Several were injured in this spell of violence, many other effected as terror prevailed taking away the peace of mind of the citizens of the city.
At a time when 14 million people of the country have been effected, rendered homeless by the floods in the country. Every day epidemics, and harsh situation these homeless people are faced with are taking them more vulnerable, more fragile more difficult to survive another day. At a time we should be out there collecting funds and sending help to these millions of people who need us but we are too busy killing one another bringing city to a halt, forcing people to stop their businesses, interrupting their routine forcing them to stay home fearing for their lives and that of their loved ones day in day out.
This city of lights is becoming more and more heartless, it wont let us do much for the flood victims, for other fellow human beings, it will just keep us busy worrying sick for our safety and that of our loved ones. It will keep us crippled till we either become heartless like the city its self, or rise to rebel and revolt anyone and every one who tries to terrorize us.
It is just shattering when all of a sudden shops start to close down, “some one is shot, someone is killed, close down your businesses.” I saw the expressions of the pushcart fruit and vegetable sellers today. fear, disappointment, and sadness speared on their grayed faces. many of them will loose their merchandise, some their lives, most of their children will sleep on an empty stomach today. Karachi is one city with many opportunities and and even more uncertainties, too much of blood shed for every single day. why cant we just let people live, is that really too much to ask for ?
It was a 13- 15 year old girl, standing on a narrow walkway by a crowded pharmacy right opposite Ashfaq manorial Center, waiting for her mother to return with the medicines. I spotted two men, probably masons, they had their tools in their hand, walking towards this girl, their unfriendly gaze, fixed on her. She panicked, and tried to press herself to the wall so to give these men space to pass by her without getting near to her while they kept walking with broad chests, dead center of the aisle. As they walked closer, and were about to pass by her, I moved quickly forward them from the opposite side, looking at these men right in the eye, there was anger on my face. I was truly going to retaliate only if they would have made one wrong move, but as soon as they saw me approaching them from the opposite direction their posture suddenly changed, they suddenly moved their eyes downwards, they walked away from the girl and quickly past me, while i continued to follow them with my angry gaze.
in the mean while the girl’s mother too was back from the medical story, and now they were walking away to get a rickshaw for their next destination.
if you may have realized, i am not at all a well built person, actually i am quite skinny, and was no match for these culprits, but what scared them was the feat that if i could have raised alarm, and the shop keepers and passers by would probably have beaten the crap out of him.
people keep asking me how they can bring a change in the society, i tell you, It takes not much to do so, if you want to see a change, the next time you spot a man gazing a women, ask him out loud what his problem is. If you are a men looking at this culprit alone will be enough to get him back to his senses. Be the change you want, feel and take the responsibility of the society you are a part of, and you will see the change coming.
A couple of weeks back when i was leaving for Islamabad the threat Karachi faced was from the cyclone PHET, and yes the very little rains we had managed to take 10 lives, but PHET was kind enough to leave us untouched, the cyclone knew we were too miserable even without the extreme weather adding to our trauma. Soon after PHET passed our city was taken down with a spree of target killings of course we expected PHET to do the dirty job but when it failed, we obviously needed people dead anyways, so we took the task in our own hands. today’s newspaper says the death toll in target killings for the past 24 hours has risen to 5.
Even natural disasters are showing their pity on us; the people of Karachi, but we ? Not – Just – Yet, we need more blood.
Looking at this number plate makes me wonder who’s visiting card would i actually need in my pocket to bypass the law and have a fake Illegal numberplate on my car too, because no one really violates any law in here, they just ….. bypass it.
