Cleaning up Karachi
If law enforcers are unable to maintain peace during Ashura, city can easily spiral into a vicious cycle of violence.
The real test for law enforcers will be over the coming week when they will have to make sure the mourning processions are able to pass through the city peacefully. PHOTO: AFP
Two months into the Karachi operation, the city was giving an illusion of peace, until the month of Muharram brought with it a string of sectarian killings. Before the start of the month, the city had not witnessed the murder of even one of its residents for sectarian motives. According to a Human Rights Commission of Pakistan report, none of the killings in the months of September and October this year were due to sectarian motives. The significant decline shows that there was some degree of success to the Karachi operation.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar told the Senate that the first phase of this operation is complete, in which the law enforcers have managed to make more than 1,500 arrests since September.
While Chaudhry Nisar’s claims are not incorrect, the violent start of Muharram may prove to be the real test for the law-enforcement agencies. The surge in killings in the two days leading up to the first of Muharram showed that there are still a large number of criminals who are walking free and have access to weapons. The first day we saw the killings of, at least, four Shia men. The very next day, there was a backlash from the rival group and more than seven Sunni men were gunned down.
The result of any effective operation must be decisive and the next few days may give some indication as to whether the criminals and murderers have indeed been put away or are just lying low.
Moreover, the real test for law enforcers will be over the coming week when they will have to make sure the mourning processions are able to pass through the city peacefully. If the police and Rangers are unable to maintain peace during Ashura, the city can easily spiral into a vicious cycle of violence, which will undermine the two-month-long efforts of the law enforcers. If Chaudhry Nisar’s statements are anything to go by, the second phase of the Karachi operation will eliminate the no-go areas in the city. If this phase also takes place successfully, then we hope the death toll in the city will be even less in the coming months.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2013.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar told the Senate that the first phase of this operation is complete, in which the law enforcers have managed to make more than 1,500 arrests since September.
While Chaudhry Nisar’s claims are not incorrect, the violent start of Muharram may prove to be the real test for the law-enforcement agencies. The surge in killings in the two days leading up to the first of Muharram showed that there are still a large number of criminals who are walking free and have access to weapons. The first day we saw the killings of, at least, four Shia men. The very next day, there was a backlash from the rival group and more than seven Sunni men were gunned down.
The result of any effective operation must be decisive and the next few days may give some indication as to whether the criminals and murderers have indeed been put away or are just lying low.
Moreover, the real test for law enforcers will be over the coming week when they will have to make sure the mourning processions are able to pass through the city peacefully. If the police and Rangers are unable to maintain peace during Ashura, the city can easily spiral into a vicious cycle of violence, which will undermine the two-month-long efforts of the law enforcers. If Chaudhry Nisar’s statements are anything to go by, the second phase of the Karachi operation will eliminate the no-go areas in the city. If this phase also takes place successfully, then we hope the death toll in the city will be even less in the coming months.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2013.