Nisar wants provincial govt on board for targeted Karachi operation

Says political consensus is imperative if an operation is to succeed.

ISLAMABAD: The Minister of Interior Affairs Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that Karachi's spiraling crime scenario can only be fought if politicians rose above petty political differences and formed a consensus to launch a targeted operation that punishes all criminals irrespective of the political affiliations they are backed by, in a press conference in Islamabad today.

Nisar said that he was neither strictly opposed nor much in favour of the army's intervention in Karachi, as demanded by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Tuesday.

"I think that if we call in the army without the agreement of the provincial government, it would be a huge insult to the provincial government and even more, to the army."

The Interior Minister said that though the government agrees with MQM that action needs to be taken, the federal government wanted to proceed in a consultative manner.

Full-scale operation neither necessary nor appropriate

"We don't need a full-scale operation in Karachi. All we need is a targeted operation against all the criminals on record," Nisar said.

"What is important, though, is that this operation is conducted under the supervision of the provincial government and with prior consensus from all political parties."

Nisar said he could not disclose all the information the security agencies had on record, but it was very clear that many of the thugs and criminals plaguing Karachi were backed by various political parties.

"The last thing we want is to have launched an operation only to see that the man arrested was backed by, say, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and someone from PML-N came forward to get him off the hook."

The Interior Minister said he had met with Director General (DG) Rangers and Chief Minister Sindh, and had invited them to a special cabinet meeting along with the governor, the head of the civil armed forces and heads of all the top officials from the intelligence agencies to get all the relevant authorities on a single page on the structural details of this proposed operation.

Nisar said he had already submitted a proposed outline of the operation to the Chief Minister, and was willing to receive feedback from the provincial government.

"The key, though, is to generate political consensus, because as long as we don't have that, the situation will only get worse no matter how many forces you install in the city."

The minister further elaborated that it was vital to define the operation's parameters and time frame beforehand, and to give the police and armed forces a free hand in catching the criminals.

Nisar said the DG Rangers was ready to provide a mandate for proposed action, but noted that many of the arrests made in the past had been reversed using political clout.

"Let us give credit where it is due," said Nisar, adding that the "Rangers are trying very hard in tough circumstances, but i do maintain they have to work within the law."

He said the army, too, was stretched out thin in operations and activities all over the country, and the government did not want to rush the matter.

Nisar also proposed the formation of an 'outer' committee with representatives from all major parties in Karachi, alongwith other stakeholders such as businessmen, to oversee the operation to their satisfaction.