Only combined efforts of all law-enforcement institutions guarantee long-term peace in Karachi
KARACHI: General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Karachi for the first time after taking charge of the army. On his visit, he reached the headquarters of the Victory Corps Karachi and the headquarters of Pakistan Rangers, Sindh. A detailed briefing was given to him on the ongoing operation in Karachi by law-enforcement agencies. He had been informed about the gains that the operation has achieved through cracking down on elements of crime throughout the city.
There is no doubt that the Karachi operation has brought considerable improvement in the security situation of the city. It contained the ever-increasing trend of targeted killing, extortion, and terrorism to a noteworthy extent. However, there has been no significant impact on street crime activities. In fact, according to statistics, the city has observed an increment in street crimes.
Being the economic hub of Pakistan, Karachi contributes around 70 per cent to the national economy. It houses the country’s significant industrial areas such as SITE, Korangi, Landhi and Port Qasim. The city is the location of the Port of Karachi and Port Bin Qasim, one of the region’s largest and busiest ports. It is the 20th largest city in the world in terms of metropolitan population and is the 3rd largest city in the world by population. However, the presence of criminal elements in such an important city is a major question mark on the performance of the government and law-enforcement agencies.
It is the need of the hour that a crackdown be extended to reprimand all culprits without any discrimination. Furthermore, without revamping the police department, long-term tranquility cannot be achieved. Corruption, being the mother of all evils, should be curtailed on an immediate basis. For that matter, other institutions such as the National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Board of Revenue should start functioning in full spirit. Only combined efforts of all law-enforcement institutions guarantee long-term peace in Karachi.
Tariq Faruqi
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2016.
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