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 28th, 2013.
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