Tackling Karachi situation

No-one can say it for sure when Karachi, the economical capital of Pakistan where about 80 per cent of the country’s economy is rooted, started boiling to the current alarming proportion. Turf wars and getting hold of major share of the extortion, the bone of contention between and among political parties may have been one reason of the largest city of the country being pushed into a ferocious hostility. Then the people remember the dictatorial regime of Gen Zia when violence took roots as a sectarian strife. It also owes largely to the land mafia which had the patronage of political parties. Right now there is hardly any crime that is not committed in Karachi. Extortion, kidnapping for ransom, dacoities, thefts, sectarian and ethnic killings, land grabbing, bomb blasts and what not; all crimes are rampant in Karachi today. Interior Minister Rahman Malik told the National Assembly in September this year that a total of 1,363 people have lost their lives at the hands of target killers during the past five years. Of them104 people were killed in 2008, 160 in 2009, 373 in 2010, 478 in 2011 and 248 so far in 2012. It is also believed that about 10 people on an average are daily losing their life in the bloodshed in Karachi where business is in ruins and industrial and commercial activities have so slowed down as to take a heavy toll of the national economy. In all, the country is losing about Rs2 billion a day, if not more, in the turmoil in Karachi to further weaken the economy. This is backdrop in which the Supreme Court rightly took up the case of Karachi observing on Saturday that the people of Karachi have, for years, been living under an environment of fear because of poor law and order situation that continued to deteriorate and undermine the security of the people; normalcy might never return to Sindh, particularly Karachi if remedial steps were not taken as top priority. Hearing the case on a suo moto notice by a five-judge bench at Karachi registry since Nov 1, the SC also ruled that a number of instances clearly reflect “mala fide conduct” of the government of Sindh in dealing with the poor law and order situation particularly in Karachi. The country’s apex court on Nov 1, remarked in the same case that Sindh administration was running a parallel judiciary by setting at liberty persons involved in heinous crimes. As many as 3,500 terrorists were freely roaming in the largest city of Pakistan taking the peace of the city their hostage. The court took serious exception to a decision by the provincial government nine years ago to release on parole 35 prisoners who were under trial on charges of committing “heinous offences”. The court ordered the provincial government to issue non-bailable warrants for arrest of the persons who have since absconded. The bench in its order directed the police and other law-enforcement agencies to look into complaints regarding “influx of Taliban into the city of Karachi” and “take all possible measures to meet any challenge which is confronting the citizens of Karachi due to the presence of illegal immigration of foreigners and Taliban, are armed with sophisticated weapons”. Later the police submitted a report, which was made part of the record. The bench observed that the police report on targeted killings showed that the situation had further deteriorated over the past 18 months or so. The SC remarked that the report revealed that killing of innocent people for one reason or the other was a rapidly increasing phenomenon which needs to be tackled with an iron hand. The SC bench noted that no “high-up” was serious about building up the police institution. “The police department has a lot of shortcomings, but no one amongst the senior officers seems to have shown concern.” The situation in Karachi is primarily political question as violence in the port city took its birth from the womb of political parties superseding each other to gain the city’s control. That is why it still needs political steps for the restoration of normalcy in the commercial capital of the country. A strong political will is the most vital prerequisite for a peaceful Karachi. All the stakeholders, including political parties, must, therefore, initiate serious and sincere dialogue rising above their narrow vested interests to save Karachi from a full blown catastrophe because saving Karachi is like saving Pakistan.