Violence in Karachi

Any city where criminals & politicians coexist, help each other becomes a perfect environment for breeding terrorism.

LAHORE: In Karachi, an explosive device went off near an election office of the MQM resulting in six fatalities and dozens of injuries, sparking a series of condemnations and a call for a province-wide protest against the poor law and order situation in Sindh. It would be a fair assessment that governing Karachi is no bed of roses, where targeted killings and extortion have been going on for two decades, while law enforcement agencies stand by quietly. There exist in this city “no-go” areas, such as those that exist only in the tribal belt.

Any city where criminals and politicians coexist and help each other becomes a perfect environment for breeding terrorism. More money is collected through extortion in Karachi from traders than is collected by the FBR in the form of tax revenues. It is also a fact that the past three years have seen terrorism by the Taliban gain a foothold in Karachi and they are now seen as threatening the peace of this city, targeting political parties.

The law and order situation can only be restored if the state’s writ is applied across the board, and not if the law has to seek permission from patrons of criminals in order for it to be enforced. The Taliban must be caught and punished, but this cannot be achieved in isolation, because criminals cannot be identified only through their affiliation. Law and order must be restored in the financial capital of Pakistan, but this can only be achieved by restoring the writ of the state, without any exception so that criminals, whatever their affiliations, face strict accountability. Every political party must have a fair and equal chance to conduct legitimate political activities as part of the electoral campaign, but this cannot happen “if the caretakers are themselves nominees of political parties.”

Malik Tariq Ali

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2013.