Suicide attack on Rangers

Karachiites need to now realise that the war against militancy has been brought to their doorsteps.

The timing of the suicide attack on the Rangers’ headquarters in North Nazimabad, Karachi, is eerie, coming as it does just a few days after the Supreme Court told police authorities in the city to tackle Taliban violence. The attack, which killed four people and injured 26 others, is confirmation that the Taliban are indeed present in Karachi, and now intent on making their presence felt. That the attack was on the Rangers also fits the recent pattern of high-profile bombings which target law-enforcement authorities. The militants seem to have realised that pursuing civilians was no good and have now chosen high strategic value targets.

The attack has vindicated not just the Supreme Court but also the MQM, which has been crying itself hoarse over the Taliban threat. The party’s recent decision to hold an unofficial referendum asking if people wanted to live in the Quaid-e-Azam’s Pakistan or the Taliban’s Pakistan was a positive move, as right now, we need to garner public support against the Taliban. Law-enforcement agencies seem helpless at fighting a defensive war against the Taliban militants. The militants, meanwhile, seemingly attack at will, meaning that they either have inside help or plan every attack to perfection and nothing can be done to stop them.

Karachiites also need to now realise that the war against militancy has been brought to their doorsteps. Before, the conventional wisdom was that militants would never attack Karachi as they were using it as a place to raise money for their attacks in the rest of the country. That was never quite right in the first place and certainly no longer is. Even worse, the Taliban seem to have shifted their focus in the city from kidnappings and bank robberies to suicide attacks. The question that now has to be answered is whether we have the political will to fight them. Certainly, the MQM does, but other parties of the city seem reluctant to root out militants in their areas of influence. Now may be the time for them to cooperate with their rivals for the good of the city and the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2012.