Law and order in Karachi

If political interference is out of the way, there should be no excuses this time for leaving the job half-done.

The meetings held on May 14 in Karachi over the city’s law and order problems augur well for the troubled and violence-wracked metropolis. Attended by the top military and civilian leadership — both provincial and federal — the gathering has decided to go ahead with what is being termed the third and final phase of the operation in Karachi. The exact details of the operation, which has been under way since the middle of last year, have been hard to come by and therefore, judging its effects may be a task best left to the end of the exercise. But, for now, to see former president Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the leaders of two opposing political forces, sit together along with the top military and intelligence brass, serves to inspire a sense of confidence.

There have been many question marks over the operation to date, ranging from political interference to alleged human rights violations — both of which have also hindered past attempts to stem the bloodletting that Karachi has often witnessed. Politicisation of security operations, coupled with there being a lack of political will to go the full distance with such efforts, has meant that the job has always been left half-done. We know that almost all political parties have armed militant wings operating in Karachi — some more than others — and this has often meant that political compromises have been reached over situations that are solely criminal in nature, leaving security forces in the lurch. After a period of détente, these criminal groups have regrouped and got back to their violent ways, as well as targeting security forces that were previously ordered to crack down on them.

That is why, when this current operation was launched, not many would have been holding their breath in anticipation of success. However, that the stakeholders seem adamant to stay the course this time, despite potential issues that could derail the effort, is encouraging, as are the statements that commit to not let political interference stymie the long and hard pursuit for peace in Karachi. One hopes that this is indeed the case. If political interference is out of the way, there should be no excuses this time.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2014.

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