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EDITORIAL: A day of shame in Lahore

There was mob rule in the streets of Lahore on Tuesday after the provincial government allowed the “ulema” of 22 organisations under the banner of Tahaffuz-e-Namoos-e-Rasalat Mahaz (Front for the Protection of the Honour of the Prophet (peace be upon him)) to stage a protest march in Lahore against Denmark in particular and Europe and the West in general. If the government ignored the verbal violence of the Mahaz leaders over the past months it did so at its own risk. The citizens of Lahore had to pay for it. The damage the city suffered could be compared only to the mayhem of 1977, which led to the toppling of the government in power.

Thousands of youths from schools and colleges, still clad in uniforms and some carrying their satchels, stormed Faisal Chowk, while groups of 35 to 50 youngsters staged separate protests all over the city. Over 400 markets and business centres in the city were already closed to observe a strike called by religious groups and opposition parties and backed by trade associations. The demonstrators shouted slogans denouncing President Pervez Musharraf, President George Bush and European leaders. They burnt tyres and piles of wood on roads and chowks across the city. They also tore down large posters of General Musharraf and the visiting Bangladeshi prime minister.

On the Mall rioters torched hundreds of cars and motorcycles and damaged government buildings and private businesses. Outlets of foreign fast food companies McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut as well as several local restaurants and businesses were attacked and set on fire. Several shops and travel agencies were broken into and looted. The demonstrators entered the Punjab Assembly and torched a room next to the opposition leader’s chamber. After that they moved on to the PIA building and damaged its front. They attacked the Holiday Inn on Egerton Road and the nearby Aiwan-e-Iqbal, smashing windows and burning cars. On the Mall, Dayal Singh Mansions came in for thorough destruction. The blaze at the KFC restaurant spread to the upper stories of the Co-opera Art Gallery, a Muslim Commercial Bank branch, a National Bank branch, and a Telenor franchise. The mob had earlier set fire to a petrol station there.

When contacted by a TV channel for comment on what was happening in Lahore the Muslim League chief, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, launched into a tirade against Denmark and emphasised the importance of Islamic protest because the offence had gone to the heart of the Muslim faith. A similar comment was made by Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi but he admitted that he was shocked by the destruction of his city by a mob he had allowed to stage the protest, thinking that the government itself would gain some mileage out of this public orgy of lawlessness. The promises made by the “ulema” Mahaz came to nothing. In fact the Mahaz leaders called their protest a complete success and laid the vandalism at the door of the government that had failed to restrain the “unruly elements”.

The destruction was seen on TV by the rest of the country and the world at large. School and college boys had entered the streets with clubs in their hands. It was obvious that the march was planned to be violent. The way they set about breaking the cars and then setting fire to them was no spontaneous response to provocation. TV commentators kept noting that the police was not present when the mob started its violence. When it came to the scene afterwards it simply stood around and watched as public and private property was being demolished. The destruction was planned and the boys knew what they had to do. Many had handguns, which they fired. On Davis Road in fact they got together in a phalanx and fired their guns in volleys. Those who were busy breaking into shops and banks were clearly youths who loot private citizens during the night while posing as followers of religious parties during the day.

Intelligence sources told Daily Times that the chain of violent incidents was orchestrated by a group of trained young activists of religious organisations. Activists belonging to the student wing (sic!) of Jamaat ud Da’wa (formerly known as Lashkar-e-Tayba), Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba and Shabab-e-Milli of Jamaat-e-Islami gave the destruction a professional touch. Groups of at least 35 men each carried out most of the violence, including burning and ransacking of buildings across Lahore. The main group travelled around in a maroon jeep and motorcycles, and most of its members had long hair, beards and were clad in commando uniforms. The Jamaat ud Da’wa flag hung from the jeep and motorcycles. All of them were trained and many had been summoned to Lahore from other cities. They were armed with petrol bombs, firecrackers, small weapons and a fire accelerant.

The politicians have got it all wrong, except those who wish to achieve targets other than protesting against the West. In Islamabad, the PPP’s Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan took credit for a “silent” procession of the parliamentarians; but next to him the PPP country chief Makhdoom Amin Fahim threatened violence “the next time”. What violence? This destruction will hurt Pakistan’s economy. (Lahore shops were deprived of special custom from thousands of Indian visitors who had to remain locked up in their hotels.) The European Union which accounts for 30 percent of Pakistan’s exports — our largest trading partner together with the United States, both accounting for 60 percent of our exports — will hardly be hurt if we carry on like this, except that our trade imbalance will choke our nascent economy and bring us once again to our knees.

The Punjab chief minister says he will join the two protests announced by the religious parties, including the mammoth one declared for March 3. He has also announced (in a moment of self-contradiction) that rallies will stay banned unless they are given official permission. But the truth of the matter is that the damage from such protests marches is too much and the results obtained from them not at all in line with the federal government’s “moderate” intent. The protests are clearly aimed at bringing the Musharraf regime down. Will the ruling party still try to shake hands with elements whose real intent is no longer disguised?

In their attempt to be holier than the mullahs, the Chaudhrys of Gujrat have lost their bearings. It is time General Musharraf knocked some sense into them. This sort of nonsense cannot be allowed to continue to hurt the nation-state.

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