MicroPakistan

I hate to spoil the party that the reinstatement of Iftikhar Chaudhry has started…

But I felt it was necessary that we all take a reality check. There have been a continous string of bombs in the country; the majority of these have been in the tribal areas resulting in heavy loss of life.

The blast in Islamabad also caused considerable damage in terms of human life and our credibility as a nation. Though not as many casualities were reported, the international reaction and 1000 point drop in the stock market suggested the grave consequences of a bomb blast in the capital of the country.

Having struck Islamabad, the next obvious-and more crucial-target would no doubt be Karachi. The life blood of this country pours through the streets of this city, the financial and business centre of Pakistan.

And just over an hour ago, the first efforts to spread terror in Karachi were launched as reports came in of a car laden with bombs in the parking lot of the famous ParK Towers shopping mall in Clifton.

Luckily, the bomb disposal squad arrived promptly and disposed of the car before any damage was done. But a considerable amount of panic was caused when the presence of the car was announced and during the subsequent evacuation of the mall.

One only wonders how long it will be before one of these attempts prove successful and plunge us deeper into strife. Musharraf seems to have opened a ratehr unpleasant can of worms for himself. We all suffer as a result of his mistakes. All we can do is pray that peace prevails…