Solving Karachi troubles
Contrary to the advice of politicians, the Supreme Court should cast as wide a net as possible in its hearings.

Contrary to the advice of politicians, the Supreme Court should cast as wide a net as possible in its hearings. Both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani are opposed to a judicial commission investigating the allegations levelled by Zulfiqar Mirza, primarily against the MQM, saying that political matters should not be settled by courts. This is a misguided view. The accusations Mirza made at his press conference specifically concerned the law and order situation in Karachi and what he believed was the MQM’s role in igniting it. Now that the Supreme Court is looking into this very matter, it should ask Mirza to appear before the bench and substantiate what he has been saying for the last week.
What the Supreme Court can do is hold accountable those who were responsible for the violence and those law enforcement officials who didn’t do their jobs. What it cannot do is prevent future violence. Only the political parties, if they come to the realisation that the exercise of political power does not have to include violence, can ensure peace in the city.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2011.
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