Daily Times

Where is the government? That is the question that comes to mind when Karachi is under discussion. The strike by the traders of Karachi in response to the killing of two brothers in Shershah, Kabari Market on the matter of extortion was an act of desperation. No sane businessman would wish to shut his business. In Karachi this sanity has been lost for the business community amidst fears of abduction for ransom, extortion, and target killing. In the last three months almost 20 traders have been gunned down and 15 abducted for ransom. While these lines are being written more bodies of traders have been found in Saddar, Karachi. The economic loss accompanying strikes is crippling. One strike dents the city by Rs 3.15 billion. One can imagine the loss when in March this year, shutters were pulled down in Karachi for 13 consecutive days. Being the country’s economic hub, contributing 70 percent to government revenues, such showdowns mean more economic debacles.

According to the chairman of the All Karachi Tajir Ittihad, Atiq Mir, the IG Sindh lacks the power to enforce the law; the police are tainted by political affiliations. The motivation to combat lawlessness in Karachi has dissipated in the effort to keep the boat of the coalition government afloat. Nearly every political party in Karachi is mired in extortion, abduction and other crimes. In its final verdict in the suo motu case on the situation in Karachi, the Supreme Court came up with the same analysis and has ordered the parties to cleanse themselves of criminal elements. Falling on deaf ears, the demand of the apex court was never implemented. Surprisingly though, target killing and extortion have gone up since the verdict. The so-called Lyari operation that killed more innocents than criminals was conducted to restrict some extortionists from stepping into others’ territory. Remarkably, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah accepted that the criminals of Lyari had more sophisticated weapons than the police.

This is where the major problem lies. Karachi is replete with weapons. The city has a parallel government run by extortionists, abductors and target killers. Every now and then the interior ministry passes the order for a clean up operation, but the story goes on: more bodies felled and people looted for either being rich or foolhardy. This is a typical example of lack of political will. The token walkouts by MQM or any other party from the assemblies on the issue of extortion would not solve the issue. Unless there is a change of mindset at the top it would always be eyewash in the name of operations. What is required is to strengthen the hands of law enforcement agencies by depoliticising them and making equal treatment the basis of law and justice. *