The PPP has announced the restoration of the commissionerate system and named a new home minister of Sindh. Strangely, instead of focusing on the real issue, the federal government resorted to a bureaucratic method to control the situation in Karachi, which has spun out of control. Perhaps the PPP wants to wrest control of local politics from the MQM. This is, in principle, not correct because true democratic culture cannot flourish without the lowest tier of democracy being in place. It is also doubtful whether giving extraordinary powers to Rangers to maintain law and order in Karachi would work. It is basically the work of the police to carry out targeted operations based on intelligence. This raises the question whether our intelligence agencies and police are capable of doing this. Are they independent of political influence to be able to target criminals notwithstanding their political affiliations? Also, are they equipped and trained to fight the heavily armed terrorists that have taken the city hostage? The answer to these questions is a resounding ‘no’. People often complain that the police silently watch the miscreants carry out their nefarious activities, but they fail to realise that the police is completely toothless and has no support at its back. While there is no doubt that more energy is required on the part of law enforcement agencies, but this energy can manifest only when past mistakes are rectified. The rise of MQM in 1984 to become a power broker on national politics owes heavily to the intelligence agencies and violent means it employed to cull opposition. The situation deteriorated to the extent that the military was called in 1992 to clean the stables. The efficacy of using a blunt weapon like the military in an urban law and order situation did not prove to be long lasting. It is the police that must have taken the lead while having the required equipment and the military or paramilitary personnel at its disposal. After the operation, the government left the police to the tender mercies of the MQM. All the police officers involved in executing the military operation were later killed. If the government wants to create democratic political structures in Karachi, it should equip the police and give it confidence that there will be no political interference. All miscreants should be dealt with without fear or favour to the full extent of the law. Till such time, no operation will be successful. *