After independence, in December 1947, when Faiz Ahmed Faiz's poem Yeh Dagh Dagh Ajala, Yeh Shab Ghazida Sahar was published in the well-known journal Sawira, it seemed as if the whole scenario of the future was before his eyes.
In the next few decades, the fledgling state faced such horrific experiences that Faiz's words were proved true.
If the list of tragedies and bitter experiences is compiled, many sad events that happened in Pakistan also took place in the month of December.
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| Image of Faiz's poem 'Sahar' published in the third issue of the literary journal 'Sawira' (courtesy of Rekhta). |
Three major tragedies include the secession of East Pakistan, the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the Army Public School tragedy. However, several other tragic events also took place in December itself.
Hurricane of 1965
Due to its proximity to the sea, Bengal has been prone to cyclones since its inception.
On December 14, 15, 1965, the cyclone that hit East Pakistan unexpectedly caused a lot of destruction. According to the news printed in St. Petersburg Times, the hurricane and strong winds coming from the Bay of Bengal had destroyed 70 to 80 percent of the houses and 10 to 15 thousand people had lost their lives.
According to the news published on 17th December 1965 in the daily Navoi Waqt (Rawalpindi), the death toll was 15 thousand.
Secession of East Pakistan
After the elections held in December 1970, a conflict arose between the political parties over the issue of the transfer of power, after which resistance began in East Pakistan.
At that time the sentiments of the people of East Pakistan were also agitated due to the devastation of the cyclone and the inadequate government aid that followed.
The federal government decided to launch a military operation in East Pakistan to end the post-election tension, but from December 1970 to December 1971, the tension escalated manifold. After various skirmishes, in late November 1971, the Indian Army attacked East Pakistan from three sides.
After several days of fighting, on December 16, 1971, the military command on the East Pakistan front surrendered.
The details that followed were also quite painful. In particular, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger revealed in an interview with The Atlantic in November 2016 that then President Yahya Khan had agreed in November 1971 to grant East Pakistan full autonomy by March of the following year. will go
The December 1974 Swat earthquake
On December 28, 1974, more than 5,000 people were killed in the Swat Valley earthquake.
Two villages named Patan and Jalal were wiped out. The Karakoram highway including Hazara, Hunza, Swat districts were also badly damaged by the earthquake.
Sanha Kasbah, Aligarh Colony, Karachi
During the Cold War, many Pashtuns from Afghanistan and the Frontier Province (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) migrated to Karachi. Earlier, during the establishment of Pakistan, a large number of refugees had made Karachi their abode.
In the 1980s, the slums outside the city of Karachi became a major hub for arms, drugs and contraband. In Sohrab Goth near the Super Highway, the police along with the security agencies launched a massive operation on 12 December 1986 and the police bulldozed the entire settlement.
In response, gunmen belonging to the Pashtun community in Kasbah Colony, Aligarh Colony and Sector D of Orangi Town attacked the refugees from India, resulting in a large number of casualties. According to official data, 49 people died in this incident, while according to media reports, more than 400 people lost their lives. Thousands of people were injured in this attack while hundreds of houses were also burnt.
100 children killed in Lahore
In a letter to the Lahore Police on December 2, 1999, a man named Javed Iqbal confessed to killing 100 children and burning them in acid.
On December 30, 1999, Javed Iqbal reached the office of Daily Jang and arrested the police.
Later, Javed Iqbal committed suicide on October 9, 2000, along with his colleague Sajid, while appealing against the death sentence.
Attack on President General Pervez Musharraf
In December 2003, the then president Pervez Musharraf was targeted by two bomb blasts, but he miraculously survived.
In the second attack, an attempt was made to target the President's convoy.
Assassination of Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto, the first woman Prime Minister of the country, died in December 1988.
Benazir Bhutto refused to back down from the public relations campaign despite narrowly escaping the horrific attack near Karsaz Bridge in Karachi in October 2007.
On the evening of December 27, 2007, at the end of a rally in Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi, she was shot at while leaving the rally hall and also bombed in which she lost her life.
Suicide attack on Rawalpindi Parade Lane Mosque
On December 4, 2009, five suicide bombers attacked a mosque near the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, killing about 40 people.
After entering the mosque, the attackers opened fire for almost half an hour, killing 17 children.
Assassination of Bashir Bilor
On 22 December 2012, Awami National Party senior leader Bashir Ahmad Bilor was killed in a suicide attack in Peshawar.
On the night of 24th and 25th of December 2012 in the same month, Shah Rukh Jatoi killed a young man named Shah Zeb Khan on the basis of petty bitterness in Defense area of Karachi.
Army Public School Tragedy
On the morning of December 16, 2014, the mourning ceremonies for the fall of Dhaka had not even begun when the Army Public School in Peshawar was resounded by the bullets of terrorists. Terrorists dressed in the uniform of security personnel killed 141 people including 132 children.
More than 150 people were also injured in this attack. Four criminals involved in the incident were hanged on December 2 next year.
Junaid Jamshed died in an air accident
On December 7, 2016, PIA flight PK 661 coming from Chitral to Islamabad met with an accident near Havelian. As a result of the accident, 47 people including the crew were killed, including the well-known preacher Junaid Jamshed.
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