Is this really 'freedom'?

11:59PM Gunshots being fired in a locality of Karachi. People fleeing across the city in fear of being wounded, possibly in response to a statement produced by Senior Minister Zulfiqar Mirza.

 Why are we being subjected to all this? Did we do anything wrong? Was there any social evil prevalent in our society which a certain class of people is trying to demolish? Is there any monster which they are trying to detain? Maybe the thing they are trying to destruct is in their own selves.

As I woke up early in the morning, I heard gunshots being fired in the vicinity. The streets were deserted, the markets closed. It seemed as if some epidemic/plague had broken out causing everyone to lock themselves up in their homes. Seeing such a desolate scene, I came back to my room contemplating whatever could have possibly caused all this reticence? As I switched on the TV, every news channel displayed a somewhat similar scenario scattered throughout the city.

Buses being burnt across the city as people were forced to remain indoors throughout the protest.

It turned out to be the acts of a politician inciting another political party. The said politician was none other than Zulfiqar Mirza, a person whom we have become accustomed to turning up on our TV screens and producing an attacking statement every now and then. It seems like the old days of civil war and ethnic differences are back upon us. The only difference is there is no more participation of Hindus in it. It’s between Pakistanis.

Why do we seem to keep our ethnic differences abreast of any conflict? Is it really so difficult for us to shrug them off and adopt a friendly cooperative stance. Whatever happened to the words democracy, diplomacy, negotiation, and peacemaking? Seems to me as if they all are synonyms of fascism in today’s world. If not the world, at least in Karachi it is so. It is indeed a matter of shame for us that a metropolis this big is under siege, and that too by some titty bitty people carrying arms of which they have no right whatsoever.

Supporters of the political party MQM burn an effigy representing provincial minister  Zulfiqar Mirza during the protest in Karachi July 14, 2011

We once used to hope that democracy would prevail in Pakistan and no one would ever need to be obsequious as soon the military rule is over. But whatever happened today was quite the opposite. I would rather the dictators came back and saved the day instead of us getting to see all this misery. A few political leaders taking the power in their own hands get to decide what we do with our days. These people determine our freedom and approve of our day to day activities. The word ‘feudalism’ rings some bells? This quid pro quo transaction did not quite live up to its promise.

Enough with the lamenting; now for the decisions. For one, I think such a situation demands immediate action. A political leader asking his men to retreat after causing disruption in the city for many hours is a matter of disgust. While there are many rules for TV screenings, all these seem to be inconsequential, considering the quasi-existent PEMRA. Why isn’t there any rule for public speaking and TV screening restricting all statements of personal attack by political leaders and consequently, paving the path for another battle of words? I personally think we, the people of Pakistan, specifically the media personnel, did not learn any lesson from the skirmish between the MQM and PML-N leaders a few months back. Why can’t we put such leaders under house arrest when we can so easily do so to the person who helped us become a nuclear power? At least we can put them under some probation so that these people don’t tend to repeat such mistakes (read: blunders) in future.

Disclaimer: I am not a supporter of any of the aforementioned political parties, just a regular citizen who wants peace and freedom for his country. Please leave your feedback in the comments section. Thank you.