Daily Times

The Karachi situation defies any simple explanation. The Chief Minister (CM) decided, for the first time, to do what should be done on each occasion but never is. He decided to take to the provincial assembly the question of whether to continue giving policing powers to the Rangers or not. In unseemly haste, the ruling party pushed through a motion to grant them curtailed powers for a year. The central government threatened governor’s rule, the CM advised them not to attempt such a venture and it seemed that something had to snap. It did. The Prime Minister (PM) did not need to go back to the assembly and granted the Rangers the same powers but for only two months. After two months, will he go to the assembly or will the CM act on his own? And what will who do and for how long next time?

Somewhere behind the scenes lurks the living spectre of the infamous Dr Asim Hussain. Rumour has it that he sang like a bird to the Rangers, naming all and sundry. If that is true, every single corrupt person of the Zardari era is under threat, almost all of them from the PPP. It seems that desperate efforts are underway and, if the Rangers are to be believed (going by performance record, there is no reason not to), these efforts are to ensure relief to Asim. In the few days that the Rangers’ policing powers ended and before these were restored, Asim was immediately transferred to the police and his prosecutor has been changed.

The Rangers have moved the courts against both decisions of the provincial government. They claim that the evidence against Asim is overwhelming and suspect the provincial government of trying to undermine the legal process, not an unprecedented accusation in this unfortunately benighted country. The Rangers seem to be doing a great job but, obviously, they have to step on toes. This time they have not only stepped on toes belonging to heavy-weights but also on so many heavy-weights that everybody who is anybody in the PPP political hierarchy is worried. Does that prove that there must be fire below the smoke? I leave it to the reader to judge.

The legal situation is perfectly clear. The Rangers are not a policing agency and, even though manned by officers from the army, is a provincial force, meant to guard borders. However, under Section Four of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997 they can be empowered to combat terrorism by the provincial government, with permission from the central government. Article 147 of the Constitution is not relevant here since it permits a provincial government to transfer any provincial function to the Centre, including policing, subject to a) acceptance by the central government and b) approval by the provincial assembly within 60 days.

What becomes evident from the foregoing is that policing powers, being a package, cannot be granted in portions by the provincial government; these are either granted or not granted. However, the solution offered by the central government is equally faulty. Under Section Four of the ATA, the central government’s blessings are mandatory for the provincial government to grant policing powers to the Rangers but the authority of granting these remains with the provincial, not central, government. Obviously, therefore, the difference of opinion is constitutional and between the central and provincial governments, and not the army. However, in any political dispute on matters of security, in Pakistan the army cannot be totally out of the scene.

So where does the army stand? One thing is crystal clear: corruption thrives solely on injustice. In fact, injustice is the only prerequisite that supports corruption. And when corruption is rampant, the only result is rampant inequality in the distribution of everything – wealth, public services, opportunities, even education. All of the above are what give birth to revolutions. And what else are our insurgents, or Afghanistan’s, or Syria’s, or anywhere else offering but a revolution? The only difference is that they offer an Islamic revolution and, each group, al Qaeda or Islamic State (IS) touts itself as the only truly Islamic one. Ergo, corruption breeds revolutions, including extremism.

That is the conclusion that the American journalist, Sarah Chayes, arrives at in her recent book, Thieves of State. It is a conclusion I cannot fault and merely wish I had been the first to make the connection. It seems that, due to some gifted foresight, the GHQ comprehended the link between corruption and religious extremism. And, having done so, decided to couple eradication of corruption with its anti-terrorism campaign. Karachi was where they started this experiment.

The Sharif-led government might have allied itself to the GHQ’s perspective reluctantly but I get the impression that, while being committed partners with General Sharif in this war, they are content to let him lead. I hope you have not forgotten Dr Asim. And Uzair Baloch’s capture has increased the one man list to two. The problem is that, as borne out by recent local bodies’ elections also, the PPP might rule Sindh but Karachi is the domain of the MQM. If the judicial process is to be suborned, and the pair rescued, at any stage from investigation to prosecution, it cannot be without help from the rulers of Karachi.

The farce presently being played out before us seeks to solve this last puzzle. The CM Sindh, while warning the central government about the imposition of governor rule, quietly and subtly made mention of the only outcry that could unite the rulers of Sindh and Karachi: a threat to provincial autonomy.

The writer is a retired brigadier. He is also former vice president and founder of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)