All the political parties in the National Assembly have endorsed Chaudhry Nisar’s initiative to conduct a targeted operation against criminals infesting Karachi. In a rare scene of converging on a common issue of national interest the parties have approved the federal government’s decision to conduct an operation in Karachi spearheaded by the chief minister Sind and monitored by a high-level committee comprising representatives from PPP, PML-N, MQM, Sunni Tehrik, ANP, JI, PTI, senior media persons, representative of business community and members of civil society. The proposal for a targeted operation in Karachi has been made in the wake of MQM’s demand to handover the city to the army to end the bloodshed. The demand had been rebutted by every political party. However, when the operation had barely begun and some workers of MQM and ANP were held on suspicion, the parties started raising noise. What did the MQM have in mind about the army’s operation, sparing MQM and pouncing on the rest? And where had the promise of offering themselves to scrutiny gone? The fear that forced confession can be derived from their arrested workers does not hold water when a consensual operation is being contemplated. Also, Chaudhry Nisar has assured MQM that no such gimmick will be applied to politicize the situation. So far the operation, which still had to be enforced fully, has been conducted above political affiliation or personal interest. However, only time will tell about the fairness, seriousness and impartiality of those who will manage the operation. As the Supreme Court has said, it is the lack of political will that has worsened the situation in Karachi. The Director General Rangers had said a similar thing, that unless the force is given the authority to operate by its mandate, it would remain impotent. The case of the police is as gruesome. Hired on personal and political affiliation, and posted on places where the officers do not belong, due to lack of experience or expertise, the criminals in the city had been allowed to play with law and order.
The responsibility of Karachi’s bloodshed cannot be placed at the doors of any one institution or government. It is a combined failure of the law enforcers, intelligence agencies and subsequent governments. The story of Karachi is that of terrorism, targeted assassination, sectarian and ethnic killings and other organized crimes, most done under the direction of different political parties. This was the crux of the report presented to the Supreme Court on its demand to know what the federal government is doing to assist the provincial government in Sindh to end the bloodshed in Karachi. The report delineated some hard facts, though known, that the city has now become a hub of criminal activities where crimes are no longer carried out in isolation. Instead, having become organized under the patronage of political parities, the criminals are equipped with the latest weaponry and a clear strategy to bleed the city. It also revealed the presence of a Muhajir Republican Army. The report has demanded of the intelligence agencies to find out about the army and the first and second tier leadership of the organizations highlighted in the report. A list has also been presented to the opposition parties by Chaudhry Nisar, listing the names of those politicians involved in criminal activities in Karachi.
Inflicted with multilayered problems, Karachi has politically supported extortionists, who kill people on denial of their demands. It has politicized armed turf wars, raging in places such as Layari, manned by the People’s Amn Committee and others. Then there are pure criminals and the recently emerged jihadi organizations, such as the Taliban, claiming their share from the city under no rule or law. Karachi is a giant undertaking and will require as many strategies to scoop out the real criminals. However, there are two adjunct requirements the absence of which will make the operation an exercise in futility. One, the operation should be non-discriminatory. Two, the arrested criminals should not be bailed out by the courts for lack of evidence as has been the practice in the past. The dilemma of a weak prosecution being a fact should not be allowed to bring the effort to square one. It is not business as usual; exceptional steps are required so that the criminal elements in Karachi are brought to justice and peace is returned to the city at last. *