Daily Times

Denying for long the existence of no-go areas in Punjab, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, in the largest province of Pakistan, has been proven to be lying. In Katcha Jamal, a 10 kilometre-long strip at the confluence of Punjnad and Indus rivers, near Rahimyar Khan, Ghulam Rasool alias Chhotu has been acting as the uncrowned king along with a gang of criminals for almost a decade. Kacha Jamal is the area where the boundaries of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan meet. That the small island is almost inaccessible to the police, it has become sanctuary for hardcore criminals from all around, raising the possibility that militants fleeing the haze of military operations in the FATA and Balochistan have take refuge there.

The political economy of crime and terror involves robbery, loot, abduction and suicide bombing. Kacha Jamal seems to have become the hub of an evil nexus between criminals and politicians as local chieftains are busy exploiting the status of it being a no-go area to grab votes from the poor people in their constituencies. Now when the cat is out of the bag, and a military operation has to be carried out to clear the mess in the riverine area, the PML-N government has to clear its position as to how the said island became a no-go area during the last 10 years, and why no decisive action was taken against this den of crime. Why Rana Sanaullah concealed this very fact when the military decided to launch an operation across Punjab after the latest Lahore blast? Why ill-equipped police commandos were pushed into the inferno, which understandably, and very unfortunately, ended in disaster? Was it not a desperate attempt to eliminate evidence of a nexus between crime and politics? Does the flow of arms, ill-gotten money and criminals into Katcha Jamal have nothing to do with electioneering and poll results? Has not some elected representatives acted as middlemen in some ransom cases?

The Indus riverine area, from South Punjab down to Sindh, is an abode of the Baloch tribes, and the absence of law-enforcing infrastructure has made it a lair of criminals, who since long have been involved in cattle theft. The development of better roads and communication infrastructure has encouraged them to engage in robberies and abduction. Professionals and businessmen alongside the Indus Highway and NH-5 have been living in a state of fear since 1990s, and local chieftains and the police are said to be part of the shady business.

The nexus between crime and politics have prospered due to the remoteness of the region. There is a reason other than what the police has presented for the launch of its operation during the wheat-harvesting season. It is a routine affair to have share in crop harvested by communities occupying the undocumented agricultural belt. Of course, there is need to man the Indus riverine area to prevent it from becoming the hotbed of crime. The case of the Indus is significant for it is a perennial river, and its wide bed is inhabited by racial stocks related to tribal regions of Balochistan willing to accept patronage of the tribal chieftains settled on the river bank. The gangs are also involved in land grabbing, robberies and drug trafficking in the nearby Cholistan.

Concentration of power in remote cities and regions is a serious problem since it involves corruption in matters of law and order. Life and liberty in Southern Punjab is in peril. The traditional safety valves that have prevented the inflow of harmful elements into the region have been destroyed. Growing towns and cities along side the Indus Highway have provided them an easy outlet to whiten the black money. The province of Punjab treading the path of corruption is not only tilting the racial balance of the former princely state of Bahawalpur but is also disturbing its serenity and calmness that it has been characterised with since centuries. The racial reasons being too pervasive, and the political class being concentrated in Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi, the no-go areas like Katcha Jamal are instrumental in extending their influence in politically powerless regions like Southern Punjab.

While the PML-N has used sectarianism to grab votes from South Punjab, the Pakistan People’s Party is promoting ethnicity for that purpose. No one is talking about the devolution of power, which is instrumental in protecting fundamental rights and improving standards of life. Who is spearheading these activities in central Pakistan? The indigenous communities have nothing to do the forces of darkness in their regions.

It is probably time to undo the spell of the National Reconciliation Ordinance which has harmed South Punjab more than any other region of Pakistan. Those who have been pardoned of their criminal deeds are more suited for jails rather than the high seats they have been given in the corridors of power. Every democracy is a sham if it does not empower people at the grassroots level. Had the third-tier government system not been disrupted, and provincial autonomy had been added to strengthen local governments, people would not have been subjected to politics of fear, which is the case right now.

If democracy is meant to sustain inequalities and strengthen the nexus between crime and politics, it is time to take action against those who claim to be its custodians. Implement the National Action Plan without any delay, and act against those who have declared a war on citizens of Pakistan in the name of religion and ethnicity. It is time to rout the dark forces that are hell-bent on tearing asunder the moral fabric of society.

Provinces have no long-term solution to the woes that have afflicted them. The centre should act decisively and devolve power from provincial capitals for it to reach directly to the elected local leadership. The local leadership should work on socio-economic development, improvement of law and order and availability of job opportunities for the youth to prevent them from falling into the hands of criminal gangs like the one being led by Chhotu in Katcha Jamal.

The writer is Director at the Center for Policy and Media Studies