All was not well in PPP tenure

From Ansarul Sharia to the Safoora carnage, PPP fails to bring law and order situation under control

KARACHI: The law and order situation in the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) five-year tenure may seem to have improved when compared to their previous tenures, however there were some occasions which left a sour taste and bitter memories.

The creation and culmination of terrorist outfit Ansarul Sharia Pakistan, tragic events at Safoora, murder of military police officers, assassination of famous qawwal Amjad Sabri, assassination of SSP Aslam Chaudhry in a car bomb explosion, targeted attack on two DSPs, among four female police officers, in Gulshan-e-Hadid and Azizabad, martyrdom of seven police officers in an explosion in Orangi Town, attaks on Rangers' check posts, attack on the Bohri community by terrorists, bomb explosions in the streets of Lyari and attacks on foreign nationals by terrorists all took place in these five years.

The PPP came to power after the 2013 polls. Managing the the security situation was a herculean task. On the very day of the elections, two bombs were set off –  one in Naya Nazimabad, where a suicide bomber detonated his vest at a Rangers check post, while the other in a rickshaw in Quaidabad.



Eight to 10 people were gunned down in targeted killings in the city on a daily basis. In September, 2013 we saw an operation launched with the cooperation of the federal government. Although the effects of this operation were to be felt in the long term, the terrorists chose their targets in the immediate aftermath of the offensive.

On January 9, 2014 SSP Chaudhry and his guards were killed in an explosion near Essa Nagri on the Lyari Expressway. On January 13, 2014 an unsuccessful attempt was made on the life of a brigadier of an intelligence agency. In May, 2015, the Safoora tragedy took place in which terrorists stepped inside a bus and gunned down 44 people.

Professor Debra Lobo was gunned down at Medi Care Chowrangi. On June 22, 2016, in the month of Ramazan, Sabri was gunned down by unidentified assailants on a busy road in broad daylight in Liaquatabad. On April 24, 2015, social worker Sabeen Mahmud was gunned down. Military police officers were gunned down on MA Jinnah Road's Gul Plaza and Saddar's Parking Plaza. In Orangi Town, seven police officers were killed during an anti-polio drive.



Last year, on the morning of Eidul Azha prayers, there was an attempt on the life of Muttahida Quami Movement leader Khawaja Izharul Hasan right outside a mosque. He remained safe, but a police officer and child lost their lives, while a terrorist was killed as well.

Foreign nationals were targeted in Gulshan-e-Hadid, but fortunately they survived the explosions and no one was hurt in the incident.

On the night of October 21, 2017, security forces raided a site in the Hub area to apprehend suspects from the Ansarul Sharia. During an exchange of fire between the terrorists and law enforcers, eight suspects were killed.



Many high profile cases were also solved during this time. The two people accused of attacking Sabri, Arif Bobby and Asim Arif aka Capri were apprehended and tried in military courts and awarded death sentences. Lyari gangster Uzair Baloch was apprehended in this tenure, while his trial is still in the courts.

Other than that, Rehman Bhola and Zubair Chariya were also apprehended in connection with their involvement in the Baldia factory fire, where more than 250 people lost their lives. This was deemed as a major victory for law enforcement agencies.