Killing fields of Karachi University

Zia did many horrible things to this nation but one action that deprived students of any democratic right was the ban on students union. The military dictator was afraid of street power and he never allowed students any say in the affairs of the country. Indeed, Jamaat-i-Islami cooperated all along with him and became willing target of genuine vilification. JI had nothing to offer in its defence. As a student I remember slogan by IJT guys, ‘Tara masih aaiga surkhon ko latkai ga’ (Tara Masih will come and hang Leftists) it was immediately after the hanging of popular Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The nation and students remained pole apart; they were divided in Bhutto and Zia camps. Sadly JI and IJT were with dreaded Zia.

In the post-Zia period, Karachi University witnessed the worst incident in that four students of PSF were gunned down in broad daylight in the late 1980s.

That incident brought Rangers to the campus but the violence continued unabated as Rangers sometimes showed highhand-edness and beat students and teachers alike. They beat them ruthlessly and misbehaved with girl students despite protests from all. Their presence rather incited violent actions and they took no action so far to stop any bloodshed.

Last year, nine persons including four students were killed as gunmen opened fire on a passenger bus on the main university road. My sister who witnessed the whole scene described as a horrible scene from any Indian movie. She failed to sleep for many days. Still she wakes in the middle of night and hears cries of dying youngsters. This happened on September 14, 2007 when armed thugs opened fire on a minibus of G-7 and hurled a hand grenade at innocent passengers including students. The police is yet to release the sketches of the suspects perhaps it will take another year.