A scene as rockets exploded . Very little photographic coverage of Ojri Camp is available. It wasn't an era of mobile phone cameras or live tv news 24/7.
Diary Khan brings you the basics of Ojhri camp tragedy compiled from personal memories and different journalist reports.
What was the Ojhri Camp?
Ojhri Camp was an ammunition depot in Faizabad,Rawalpindi. This place is the junction of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.Most people did not know that there was a depot for storing ammunition right next to where they lived. This depot was being used , according to different reliable sources, to store US ammunition that was used against the Soviet invaders in Afghanistan.
Scenes of April 10 1988 in Rawalpindi and Islamabad
It was a normal day. It actually was my first day in my new school in Islamabad. Around 10 am I vividly remember , there were huge bangs that could be heard. But what was really terrifying was that these explosions would not stop. Blasts could be heard one after the other. Our teacher decided to distribute sweets to calm us down. Parents started turning up at the school gate to collect their kids. Our school was next to the Margalla hills so luckily we remained safe.
On the roads, traffic was in chaos. People were running in all directions to save their lives . They didnot know what had actually happened. All that people knew or could see were missiles in the sky. These missiles had unleashed havoc of the worst kind in the twin cities. People were being directly hit by missiles and properties being reduced to rubble. Some thought India had attacked. Others assumed it was the day of judgement.
Blasts countinued for a couple of days.
Unconfirmed reports , put the death toll at 5,000. Official sources at that time put the number of dead at 100 and over a thousand injured.
Why did it happen?
Reports say that there were sround 248 stinger missiles in the camp . All of these exploded. Some rockets fell in peoples homes and did not explode was because they did not have detonators.
Was it sabotage, an accident or an act to cover up the reported ammunition theft from the camp? That remains unanswered. But there were strong runours at that time that a US defense audit team was to visit Pakistan to look into the matter of arms and ammunition being sent to Afghanistan.
Aftermath
The government at that time had launched an inquiry. The elected government of Prime Minister Junejo was sacked by the then President Gen. Zia ul Haq in May that year who himself, later died in a plane crash in August 1988.
Surprisingly, not many people talk about the tragedy. This is never a topic of casual conversation as are so many other topics these days. Probably it took place at a time when there was no digital technology and very little influence of media. This a sensitive and secret issue.
