KARACHI:
Far from formulating a strategy, the government seems hard-pressed to find the right words to warn those behind the unabated violence in Karachi.
Reeling from heavy criticism of its perceived inability, and unwillingness to tackle the situation in Karachi, the government on Tuesday issued a statement, originating from the Sindh Chief Minister House, warning the criminal elements responsible for the killings to “leave Karachi and go elsewhere, or else stringent, exemplary action would be taken against them.”
The awkward statement came in for intense criticism – so much so that the government had to retract the statement, and clarify what it meant to say: “extortionists have not been asked to leave the city, but warning is issued to them to stop their activities otherwise action will be taken against them and such action will be an exemplary.” It then also sent a revised statement.
The faux pas could not have come at a worse time for the government, or those supporting its stance that it can handle the situation in Karachi. In recent weeks, there has been a burgeoning debate over whether or not the Army should be called into the city.
(Read: Calling in the army)
The calls to send in the jackboots have increased in recent days. And while the government has stayed firm in its resolve that it is capable of handling the situation, the prime minister on Monday warned authorities to get their act, hinting that, otherwise, the military could step in.
The person who has borne the brunt of criticism is Rehman Malik – who is notorious for his off-the-cuff remarks.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2011.
COMMENTS (13)
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The Joker in chief said that target killers will be presented to media in 48 hrs. and what we saw on TV last night was just four handcuffed persons hiding under a dirty bed sheet. WHY HIDE FACES??? HOW WILL SOME ONE RECOGNIZE THE KILLERS???? Rehman Malik should show some SPINE and expose the killers and their backers from the political parties.
The headline made me laugh out loud. So funny
Yes Govt Leave please Leave
@Humanity: hahahahahah Good 1 direct to the POINT
I agreeee
somebody rightly said to me yesterday, that we are ruled by team of jokers seriously
Thats like Shahbaz Sharif telling Taliban to leave Punjab. In short everyone is the same, no use taking sides in politics
The government is bound to make a fool out of themselves now and then.. " Leave and go somewhere else? " Still we see no action being taken !! When , when will we take a STAND?
I am impressed by the warning given, by the Govt of Sindh this is all they can do, let us see when the Magic of warning work. Till then Allah Hafiz for all us
Who will govern then ?
It is an open secret that the violence in Karachi emnates from the tussle between PPP and MQM. What then the Government is trying to prove through such statements? Instead of penalizing the criminals they are offering them a safe passage? The police is afraid as all the police officers who took part in the last cleanup of Karachi got killed one by one. There will be no solution to the Karachi situation until either PPP or MQM remain in power.
Such statements are typical of the current government who have o idea wha to about government since they are too busy in their personal agendas.
No one talks of bringing extortionist to justice, just talks of giving them a way out safely and quietly. Is that what the people deserve ? Is that the only strategy that the government can up with.?
How can we progress if criminals are merely told to "now stop it's ok. We will pretend your past criminal activities never happened"