ANP demands military to rescue Karachi

DAILY TIMES

Awami National Party (ANP) Sindh President Shahi Syed on Sunday demanded the government launch an indiscriminate and immediate military operation in Karachi to curb target killings. Talking to Daily Times at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, he also rejected the impression of Talibanisation of Karachi, saying that the Sindh chief and home ministers were responsible to maintain order in the city. Senator Syed said there might be some people who had a soft corner for the Taliban “but as a whole, there is no Talibanisation of Karachi as being portrayed by some political forces”. “The ANP condemns the killing of people from ethno-linguistic group, sect or race.” He said that although Interior Minister Rehman Malik had been trying to restore peace in Karachi, it was not the task of one individual. “It is responsibility of Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and Home Minister Manzoor Wasan to maintain peace in the city.” He said the situation would turn to normalcy when the chief minister and home minister called for reports on Karachi’s security on a daily basis. The senator said the ANP was not happy with the role of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in maintaining order in Karachi. In other provinces however, he added, the coalition alliance was working fine. “When the PPP has failed to protect the lives of its own polling agents, how could it provide protection to the general public in Karachi?” Senator Syed said the Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Norani, ANP and Muhajir Qaumi Movement-Afaq had joined hands to rid Karachi of terrorism and target killings. “The option to tune this ‘city alliance’ into a political alliance cannot be ruled out. However, the final decision will be taken after reviewing the ground situation of city’s affairs,” said the senator, who is also president of the ANP’s Sindh chapter. He said that there had been “75 percent decrease” in incidents of terrorism and extremism across the country during the ANP’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “A major success for the ANP in the province was repatriation of 25,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) to their homes despite the party facing tough challenges at the hands of extremist and terrorist elements,” Senator Syed said. He said that the priority of the ANP in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was to invest in power sector to rid people of electricity crisis. For the purpose, he added, Rs 40 billion had been allocated for power generation. Giving details of power projects launched by the ANP, Syed said that the ANP would also start working on the construction of three small dams in the province by June. Commenting on the Defence of Pakistan Council (Difa-e-Pakistan Council), the ANP leader said it was the same old team of former military dictator and “innovator of division” Gen (r) Ziaul Haq. He said the council was following the policies of Gen (r) Zia, adding that banned outfits and people facing murder charges were part of the group. Senator Syed rejected the census campaign in Karachi, saying, “the ongoing census is not fair and independent and the ANP condemns it at Karachi level”. He alleged that in some areas, activists of the MQM were influencing the census process. “Whereas in other parts, entire streets were missed by the census commission, which is unfair,” the ANP leader said. He said the ANP had decided to move the Supreme Court against improper census in Karachi. Asked to suggest an immediate solution to unrest in Karachi, Senator Syed said that the only solution was to launch an immediate and indiscriminate military operation in Karachi. He said that terrorists and killers from any sect or political force should be detained and brought to the court of justice for taking the lives of innocent people.