Violence mars Pakistan's celebrations
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from August 1997.
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Thousands gathered at the tomb of the nation's founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, for a speech by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in which he appealed to Pakistan's 140 million to help put an end to violence that has left killed almost 400 people this year.
But the ceremony turned violent when police moved in with batons to disperse the crowd after Sharif left. Enraged, several people took off their shoes and began throwing them at police guards, witnesses said. At least one policeman responded with gunfire in a melee that left two young men dead. At least two other men were injured, including a paramilitary ranger, one of thousands deployed to quell violence on Karachi's streets during the anniversary celebrations.
The violence contrasted sharply with Jinnah's vision of a nation that would serve as a tolerant homeland for Muslims in the subcontinent. He died a year after independence.
The violence also marred otherwise peaceful celebrations marking 50 years since Pakistan won independence from Britain. The festivities themselves were remarkable for the soul-searching that went on.
In a country where a quarter of the population lives in extreme poverty and only about one-third can read, even Sharif noted that some thought there was little reason to celebrate.
Thousands live without basic sanitation or access to quality health care. Private and public sector graft is rampant, giving Pakistan a reputation as one of the world's most corrupt countries.
Instability has dominated the political scene, with military dictatorships holding sway for half of Pakistan's 50 independent years.
"We will solve your problems, eliminate unemployment, illiteracy, starvation, poverty and march along with the masses toward progress," Sharif promised the crowd in Karachi, the country's financial centre and home to 14 million people.
A squabble between Sharif and President Farooq Leghari over who would address the parliament's special joint session led to last-minute changes in the Golden Jubilee ceremonies.
Leghari was absent from the celebrations in Islamabad, but joined Sharif to lay a wreath at the tomb of Jinnah. He left soon after the ceremony, before Sharif's speech.
Tens of thousands gathered outside Jinnah's tomb, where children waving Pakistan's flag sang national songs.
In a speech after the wreath-laying, Sharif said. the country was "slowly and gradually" moving forward.
With the public's support and "the grace of God, Pakistan will shine on the map of the world," he told the crowd.
Both Leghari and Sharif were swarmed with bodyguards and paramilitary troops, a precaution against extremist minority groups who have waged the vicious street battles in Karachi.
Just a day earlier, the National Assembly had adopted a controversial anti-terrorism law that gives police sweeping authorities to combat the political and sectarian violence.
Amnesty International has expressed fears it would lead to arbitrary arrests, detention of innocent people and remove "some of the most fundamental rights of Pakistani citizens."
But Sharif rejected those concerns. "A few hundred terrorists have held hostage 140 million people, and I will not allow them to destroy the country," he said in a midnight address to the legislature.
Elsewhere across Pakistan, many found reason for hope and celebration, despite the violence.
Thousands thronged ceremonies early Thursday in the federal capital Islamabad and the eastern Punjab capital Lahore, many waving Pakistan's green and white flag.
At a flag-raising ceremony in Islamabad, Sharif suggested his country and neighbouring India celebrate their joint 50th anniversary by setting aside their difference and finding peace.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars since the two countries gained independence from Britain 50 years ago. The border between them remains one of the world's tensest, and both countries spend more than one-third of their national budgets on defence.
But Sharif said Pakistan would not relent on the thorny issue of the disputed Kashmir region. Both countries claim the former Himalayan kingdom, the only predominantly Muslim state in largely Hindu India and the flash point of two wars. Islamabad and New Delhi began talking in March after four years of silence. Previous talks broke down over Kashmir. India accuses Pakistan of funding an insurgency in Kashmir that has left 15,000 dead. Pakistan wants India to give the Kashmiris the right to vote on which country should rule.
