Even as another round of talks were held at Chief Minister House between the three coalition partners of the Sindh government, the bullet-riddled bodies of a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP) worker were discovered in the city on Thursday.
Capital City Police Officer Saud Mirza told The Express Tribune that since the late Wednesday night meeting at Governor House, attended by senior political leaders, the police and Rangers, the situation has come close to being stable. “Apart from one or two killings, overall it has been quite peaceful compared to the last few days,” he said.
Special Assistant to Sindh Chief Minister Waqar Mehdi said a follow-up to the Governor House meeting was held at Chief Minister House on Thursday. It was attended by Rashid Rabbani, Najmi Alam, Waseem Aftab, Hamad Siddiqui, Bashir Jaan and Rana Gul Afridi.
Mehdi said the committee decided to implement the 10-point code of conduct signed by the coalition partners the PPP, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and ANP last year in August in the presence of the prime minister. “Basically, we decided that the law enforcement authorities would be allowed to move in against all criminal elements, including target killers, land grabbers and the mafia no matter which party they’ve taken refuge in,” he said. These very words have been uttered many times before by federal interior minister, Rehman Malik.
He said the men at the meeting resolved to give a ‘free hand’ to the police and Rangers to carry out their duties. It was decided that everyone would take down party flags in violence-prone areas of the city in order to avoid further tension. When asked what would happen now if another cycle of violence begins, Mehdi said, “Local committees consisting of representatives of all three parties would visit these areas and control the situation.” The men did not at all touch on a deweaponisation operation in the city. However, action would be taken against people who carry illegal arms, Mehdi said.
Meanwhile, police chief Mirza said his primary challenge had been to stop the violence from spiralling out of control into every neighborhood of the city and keeping it localised at certain pockets.
“I appeal to political leaders to cool their tempers,” said chief of police Mirza. “All of them have to live in the same neighborhood and these acts can’t go on.”
He gave the example of the Liaquat National Hospital incident where the Pakhtun Students Federation and All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organisation clashed. He said that police stayed back in order to avoid causalties. “I clearly told the political leaders at the Governor House meeting to rein in their student unions, or else they’ll face the brunt of our force the next time,” he said.
Orangi SP Khurram Waris, whose town took the brunt of the current cycle of violence, was relieved that not a single gunshot was fired on Thursday. He said police were able to patrol the previously no-go pockets in the town and at the moment “the situation is OK.” Warid denied that police avoided patrolling in the last two days and said his own driver Arif was shot dead two nights back during a police patrol.
Edhi and Civil hospital staff said three bodies were discovered in the city on Thursday. A bullet-riddled body was also discovered from Lyari’s Niazi chowk, Edhi staff said.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 17th, 2011.
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