Taliban in Karachi

In its interim order on the Karachi law and order situation, the Supreme Court directed the Sindh government to take immediate action against all armed groups, including the Taliban, and to take seriously the issue of the Taliban presence in the city. The advice about 'seriousness' is particularly important given that the two alliance partners in the provincial government, the MQM and the ANP, have been at loggerheads over the issue, with the former insisting the Taliban were active in Karachi and the latter reacting angrily, refuting the assertion as an indirect attack on its fellow Pashtuns. The nation's commercial capital, Karachi has attracted a large number of people from all over the country. Hence, even though the Taliban's home base is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Punjab, it is hardly surprising if some of them have found their way into Karachi - needless to say, not all Pashtuns or Punjabis sympathise with them. Also inviting for the Taliban has been the environment created by turf battles among Sindh government's coalition partners: the PPP, MQM, and ANP. These insurgents are known to have had a nexus with al Qaeda. How these links worked has come to light several times with the arrest of al Qaeda leaders and operatives who took refuge in Karachi. In May of last year, for instance, the security agencies announced nabbing a senior al Qaeda operative, Mohammad Ali Qasim Yaqub, a.k.a. Abu Abu Shohaib al Makki, from the city. In June this year, Karachi police said they had arrested seven suspects belonging to an al Qaeda affiliate, and recovered seven explosives-laden jackets, rockets and detonators from them. These people obviously had local connections. Instead of squabbling, all political players need to rise above ethnic/political affiliations to face the common enemy. More importantly, the government has to act decisively. In its last year's verdict on the Karachi situation, the Supreme Court had noted that all members of the ruling coalition were responsible for endless violence and lawlessness, and made several recommendations to restore normality to the city. Due to reasons of political expedience, the government paid little heed to those recommendations, prompting the court to revisit the same issue this year. Meanwhile, the conditions have worsened, becoming ideal for the insurgents and all sorts of criminal elements to operate in. Interior Minister Rehman Malik has promised compliance with the court order this time, saying that Karachi has turned into a Taliban stronghold, and that the government would act in accordance with the SC interim order and go after the Taliban. He also claimed that some Taliban-specific measures had already been initiated. Any such measure in isolation from the other factors causing relentless violence in Karachi will be unhelpful.