Upsurge in violence: Nawaz says govt has failed in Karachi, as killings continue

PML-N threatens to hold a long march unless govt announces elections.

LAHORE/ KARACHI: Nine more people were mowed down in Karachi on Sunday in a renewed cycle of violence that pushed the death toll from the past 48 hours to 29 and invited sharp rebuke for administration officials from the country’s main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif.

Lambasting the federal and provincial governments, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif said both, despite being elected by popular vote, have utterly failed in maintaining law and order in the city.

In one incident, a man and his two sons were gunned down in Karachi’s Orangi Town locality, while another was killed outside his house in Soldier Bazaar. Yet another man was gunned down in Jamshed Town. The attacks appeared to have a sectarian nature as the victims were identified as Shias.

Even mosques no longer appear safe after two armed men gunned down a prayer leader as he was delivering a sermon.

Meanwhile, two men shot late Saturday night in the city’s FC Area, succumbed to their injuries on Sunday.

In response to the weekend violence Karachi has witnessed, Nawaz Sharif issued a statement on Sunday criticising the government for a perceived lack of response. He demanded the strictest measures against those playing with people’s lives in the country’s economic hub and said the government needs to use all resources to bring them to justice. He appealed to all political parties, intellectuals, media, civil society and religious organisations and scholars to help restore peace in Karachi.

“The responsibility to save the ‘city of lights’ from the darkness of death and violence lies on the shoulders of all Pakistanis,” he said.

PML-N threatens long march

PML-N spokesperson Senator Mushahidullah Khan threatened that the party’s supporters would march on Islamabad if the government does not announce a schedule for the next parliamentary elections and puts in place an interim set-up.

“People demand elections now … the situation is serious and, the common man does not believe it will improve,” Khan told a press conference in Karachi on Sunday.

He expressed his party’s concerns over the deteriorating security situation in Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

He believed the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was not serious about holding general elections on time. “The PML-N will stage a long march bigger than the one it held for the restoration of the judiciary … the walls of the Presidency and Prime Minister House will tremble, the days of accountability are close and the rulers cannot avoid that anymore,” Senator Khan asserted.

Referring to Karachi’s law and order situation, he said the government had failed to prove it had the confidence of the city’s residents.

“Over 20 people were targeted on Saturday when the prime minister was present in Karachi,” he said, adding that it is the government’s responsibility to maintain peace in the country’s economic hub. Khan accused the government of involvement in the killings.

“Any lay person can guess what is happening when an MNA and President Asif Ali Zardari’s sister [Faryal Talpur] requests the court for security.”

Replying to a question about PML-N’s alleged role in the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI), Khan said his party’s leadership was ready for investigation. He maintained IJI has been active throughout the Pakistan’s history in various shapes. The PML-N leader claimed his party’s involvement in toppling PPP’s government in 1990 had not been proved as well.

Khan denied the PML-N chief had discussed a possible coalition with Muttahida Qaumi Movement if his party won seats in Sindh. “The only way to save Sindh is a stronger coalition. Our party will certainly talk to pro-peace leaders, but not anti-peace people,” he asserted.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2012.