Assassination of MQM MPA

Our political parties, all of whom now face threats from militants, need to come together to root out this menace.

The tragic murder of MQM MPA Syed Manzar Imam demonstrates yet again the growing power of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)-Lashkar-e-Jhangavi (LeJ) combine and their ability to seemingly strike at will. There have been many who have tried to argue that there are differences between the various militant groups operating freely in Pakistan but this is a distinction without a difference. The TTP mainly operates from the tribal areas while the LeJ has permeated the rest of the country but there is significant cooperation between the two groups, both of whom are also rooted in the same hateful ideology. The LeJ’s recent spate of violence, much of it targeted against the beleaguered Shia community, shows that simply talking of military operations in the tribal areas is no longer enough. Our political parties, all of whom now face threats from these militants, will need to come together to root out this menace.

The MQM is one of the few political parties that has always had a clear view of the militant threat. Now is the time to try and convince everyone else to take the problem equally seriously. The MQM must take the lead in chalking out a plan for the government to tackle, once and for all, the LeJ threat in particular and the militants in general. It may finally be able to convince the army and the government to take serious, much-needed action against the militant menace.

Furthermore, the MQM and its rival parties in Karachi should also use this tragic incident to realise that there is more that binds them than there is that which separates them. Both the MQM and the ANP are firmly in the crosshairs of the militants, making their differences in Karachi seem insignificant in comparison. ANP chief Asfandyar Wali took a good first step in immediately calling the MQM to express his condolences. The two parties now need to build on that to ensure that they provide a united front against the militants that are infesting Karachi and the rest of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2013.