December
31, 2007 Normalcy in Pakistan
After Three Days of Anarchy By Muhammad Najeeb
Islamabad
Normalcy returned to Pakistan Monday after the death of 44 people in
three days of widespread street violence in the wake of former prime
minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination.
Attacks on private and government property erupted shortly after
Bhutto was killed in Rawalpindi Thursday evening as tens of
thousands took to the streets, blaming the government of President
Pervez Musharraf for the murder.
The worst hit in the mayhem was the state-run Pakistan Railways.
Mobs torched 72 train coaches and 18 railway stations in Sindh,
Bhutto's home province. Four railway stations were damaged. The
violence left hundreds of passengers stranded at different stations.
Violence was also reported from all parts of Pakistan including the
cities of Lahore, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Peshawar.
According to officials, 173 bank offices were gutted and 26 damaged,
158 government offices torched and 42 damaged, 26 petrol stations
set on fire, 370 vehicles burnt and 61 damaged, and 765 shops razed.
Rail and road links between Sindh and the rest of the country
remained cut off for three days. A caravan of 26 buses left Karachi
Monday, guarded by paramilitary troops.
According to the government, the total losses in the violence
totalled billions of rupees.
A huge amount of cash was also looted from ATM machines. Likewise,
several shops selling expensive items were broken into.
The violence subsided after the army was called out in parts of
Sindh Friday evening. However, it was only Monday when almost all
business centres opened. A few offices of international
organisations still remained closed.
As a precaution, the government has ordered that educational
institutions will remain shut till Jan 3. Some private institutions
have announced that they will reopen only after the Jan 8 elections,
which may however be postponed.
The Karachi Stock Market that opened Monday after a break of three
days crashed. The KSE-100 index was down by more than 700 points in
the opening session.
Long queues of vehicles were seen at petrol and gas stations that
also opened Monday morning. Many vehicles were being pushed to the
stations as they have run out of fuel during the three-day closure.
Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari, appointed co-chairman of the
party along with his son Bilawal, appealed to the masses to calm
down.
He accused "miscreants and anti-social elements" of taking advantage
of the situation to loot and plunder.
The government has registered cases against people caught setting
offices and government installations on fire. According to the
interior ministry, more than 300 people have been arrested.
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