Suicide attacks, bomb blasts, terrorism, sabotage, arson and violence have been order of the day in Musharraf-led Pakistan. No one, either rich or poor, feel safe and secure in the country. 
 
It seems that the whole country has been hurled into chaos and anarchy and the powerful mafias are let lose to rule the country with their will.

Chaos, confusion, pandemonium, fear and insecurity reigned supreme in today’s Pakistan.   
On Monday January 14, a string of bomb blasts occurred in the three provinces of the country. On Monday evening an explosive devised believed to be fitted in a motorcycle, ripped through a busy intersection outside a factory in Landhi area of Karachi, that claimed at least 11 lives and injured more than 70.

Another bomb blast occurred in the election office of Awami National Party in Peshawar, while a third bomb blast occurred in Hub, the industrial town of Balochistan's Lasbela district bordering Karachi.

With the blast in the Landhi Industrial Area Monday evening, panic and fear engulfed the city. As the memory of the arson, chaos, violence that ruled the city following the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007 was still fresh in the minds of Karachiites, people rushed to their homes fearing more violence and arson in the aftermath of the blasts. 
 
Traffic on the roads came to a standstill and the city witnessed blockages on major thoroughfares due to the scare created by the blasts among the citizens who wanted to reach their homes as early as possible.

All those who killed in the blasts were labourers and people belonging to low-income group. They were buying fruits and vegetables from the vendors on the road near Gul Ahmed Chowrangi, Landhi, when all of a sudden the bomb planted under a motorcycle, went off. Among the 11 victims, four were members of a single family.

"A middle-aged man parked his motorcycle close to vegetable carts, enquired about the prices of different items and soon melted into the darkness. A few seconds later, an explosion took place, causing chaos as people ran for cover," Ahsan Khan, an eyewitness, said.

Police said that it found the wreckage of the motorcycle metres from where the bomb exploded, but were unable to find the number plate.

Majority of the deceased and the injured were from an ethnic group. Soon after the blasts a large number of enraged people converged on the site of the blast, chanting slogans against the government. Intense gunfire shook Landhi and other areas.

Unidentified people also resorted to aerial firing in Site Area, Banaras, Baldia town and other parts of the city throughout the night.

Initially the dead bodies and injured were shifted to a nearby hospital, but later on they were carried to JPMC. Following the blast fear and panic grip the whole city and gridlock occurred on major thoroughfares and roads of the city, which impeded the ambulances carrying the injured and bodies to JPMC.

 "It was an act of terrorism aimed at general public just to create chaos, harassment and despondency among people. A very poor section of the population was targeted," Sindh PPO Azhar Ali Farooqi said.

He said initial investigation suggested an improvised explosive device had been used. It weighed 1.5kilogrammes.

As overwhelming majority of the deceased and injured were from the same ethnic group, fear of ethnic tension gripped many areas of the city, with the Pakhtuns dominated areas echoing with aerial firing. People took to the streets and roads and burnt tyres in protest against the blasts.
 
The Pakhtuns Loya Jirga announced three-day mourning for the deceased of the blast.

The blast occurred when President Pervez Musharraf was in the city and there was a high security alert owing to Muharramul Haram and president's presence.

More than 10,000 Rangers were deployed across the city along with police personnel.
"There was no specific target, it was just meant to kill ordinary civilians. The terrorists chose a soft target to spread panic and terrorise society," interior ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema said.

Till filing of the report no one claimed responsibility of the blasts. The government blamed the terrorists and extremists for the blasts, who, the government assert, are trying to undermine the security and integrity of the country.

Soon after every act of terrorism the government is seen very quick to blame al-Qaeda and militants for the incident. The al-Qaeda and militant have been a 'blank cheque' for the government to evade its responsibility of providing security to the life and property of the citizens. 
            
With the Karachi blasts, apprehensions that the government want to delay or escape from the reschedule parliamentary elections have grown stronger. As some officials said that the blasts were aimed to sow fear ahead of the February 18 polls, some people linked the blast with the upcoming polls.

They said that the government did not want to hold elections owing to its unpopularity among the masses, so it is engineering such incidents.   

Leaders of major political parties are on the record saying that the government was not willing to hold elections and it might further delay elections in shade of any incident.
 
PML-N and PPP vociferously opposed the delay of elections following Benazir Bhutto's murder, but the government rescheduled the elections despite their opposition.

With the Karachi blasts opposition parties have renewed their demand to President Musharraf to resign immediately.  "The rulers must admit their failure and quit," said Raja Zafarul Haq, chairman Pakistan Muslim League-N.

He said the government's weakness was encouraging militant violence.
"The bombings have destabilised the economy and tarnished the country's image. There are people who are trying to destabilise the country but the government is doing nothing to deal with them," he said.

Opposition leader in Senate Raza Rabbani has said that the government has completely failed to provide security to masses and it must step down.

Central leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami Syed Munawar Hassan and Prof Ghafoor Ahmed demanded of President Musharraf to resign immediately by acknowledging his failure to provide security to the citizens. They said that neither the people on the street nor the soldiers in the cantonment are safe and secure owing to the flawed policies of the regime.