Karachi witnessed one of its worst spates of violence and turbulence on Thursday after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) gave a countrywide call for holding demonstrations, protesting the racial and highly bigoted comments of the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP’s) senior provincial minister Zulfiqar Mirza about the Urdu-speaking people and the leadership of the MQM. Riots erupted in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Larkana, Shikarpur, Naudero and other cities of Sindh, in which 18 people lost their lives. Over 40 vehicles and 11 shops were torched. Life came to a standstill and the already battered economy suffered losses of around Rs 26 billion in just two days in a week.
In a late Thursday night statement, Mirza apologised for his statement and MQM’s chief Altaf Hussain appealed to the people to end their protests and return to their homes in a peaceful manner. All this happened after causing an immense loss of precious lives and property. The MQM leadership, being a major political force, could have responded with maturity against Mirza’s statement by lodging a complaint but the matter was handled irrationally. The protests became violent and brutal and were thus unjustifiable. Though the outspoken Mirza would probably be prevented by his party from speaking so recklessly in future, it should not be forgotten that Karachi is part of Sindh province and not the private property of any political group. In a city where the atrocious spree of political violence and targeted killings among various ethnic groups has become a routine, such a matter should have been dealt with sensibly and not with emotions. The responsibility of maintaining law and order falls on every political party that enjoys the support of the people of Karachi.
Despite the fact that major political parties, including the PPP, the MQM and the Awami National Party (ANP) have political support in the country’s commercial hub, Karachi has become a perilous place. Ethnic violence has been largely fuelled by hostility and rivalry among these three political parties, with the dangerous stoking of ethnic sentiments. The spate of gun battles among the heavily armed factions is claiming many live on a daily basis. Life for the general public has become precarious as frequent disturbances and the accompanying shutter down strikes bring the city to a standstill again and again.
The government has to deal with the complex political and ethnic problems of Karachi with sincerity. The metropolis’s control cannot be handed over to a particular group as an outcome of a political ‘deal’. The writ of the state has to be regarded as supreme and the duty of peacekeeping and ensuring law and order should be put on the shoulders of the police. For this purpose, it is pertinent to empower the police force, which has become demoralised and reluctant to take action against the miscreants in the city fearing their strong political affiliations, especially after what happened in the 1990s. De-politicising of the police has to be done to prosecute the culprits belonging to different political groups on an equal footing. Only a non-partisan and professional police force can ensure the supremacy of law in the current situation. There is no denying the fact that dealing with the criminal gangs is an uphill task, considering the level of violence that it may trigger. However, it requires sophistication on the part of the intelligence and law enforcing agencies. An even-handed deweaponisation process should be initiated immediately as all political parties are allegedly involved in buying and using illegal arms. Until the government ensures its complete support to the police, violence will keep escalating.*