Pakistan

Army chief vows to crush 'all mafias' in Karachi

Says latest Karachi killings ‘indicate design’, calls for perpetrators to be exposed

Kamran Yousuf April 29, 2015

Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif receiving a briefing by the Corps HQ in Karachi from DG Rangers on operation preparedness and latest law and order situation. PHOTO: ISPR

ISLAMABAD: Army chief General Raheel Sharif vowed on Wednesday to finish ‘all mafias’ in Karachi and made it clear that across the board and indiscriminate operation in the port city would continue till its logical conclusion.

During his visit to the Corps Headquarters in Karachi, the army chief said the ongoing operation in Karachi was bringing relief in terms of target killings and extortion, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major-General Asim Bajwa quoted him as saying on Twitter.

Peace in Kci priority to revive economic vibrancy,well being of the people.Will continue to work with people/govt to finish all mafias4/5
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) April 29, 2015

General Raheel said restoring peace in Karachi was a top priority as it would help revive economic activities and bring relief to the people.

“We will continue to work with the people and the government to finish all mafias,” he said.

General Raheel also appreciated the efforts of law enforcement agencies, including Rangers for a holding a peaceful by-election in NA-246.

'Recent killings indicate design'

General Raheel termed the recent target killings, including human rights activist Sabeen Mahmud as planned.

“Latest pattern of killings in Karachi indicates a design, which needs to be checked,” he said, directing intelligence agencies and Rangers to “trace out, apprehend and expose perpetrators.”

More recent pattern of killings indicates a design,needs checked. Directed int agencies,Rangers to trace out,apprehend,expose perpetrators-5
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) April 29, 2015

The army chief expressed his satisfaction over intelligence input and progress so far achieved in the operation in Karachi.

Kci ops bringing relief in term of tgt killing,extortion.Ops to remain across board,indiscriminate, continue till its logical conclusion3/5
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) April 29, 2015

Commends LEAs, spec Rangers for peaceful,smooth NA-246 bye elections.Shows Satisfaction over int input & progress of ops in Kci-2/5
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) April 29, 2015

Kci-#COAS:Visited Corps HQ.Briefed by CorpsComd&DG Rangers on op preparedness,Kci ops,latest law&order situation1/5 pic.twitter.com/j4F62ijOVQ
— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) April 29, 2015

COMMENTS (29)

Raja Porus | 9 years ago | Reply May the Army Chief General Raheel Sharif live long! Ameen. He is a big ray of hope for the future of Pakistan as a prosperous nation. Godspeed General, the whole nation is with you, let's crush all the mafias (including those operating under the guise of legit political parties) and finish them once and for all!

Sameer | 9 years ago | Reply @Amit Lunia: Address Khan's points instead of nitpicking at his grammar if you are truthful.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

Maria | 9 years ago | Reply @Muhammad: Get your facts right before being a mouthpiece for India. Remember that India's own actor Naseeruddin Shah said Indians are the ones who are brainwashed with anti-Pakistan hatred while India is not similarly demonized among Pakistanis, and then the reaction he got from Indians confirmed exactly what he said. Kashmir is NOT a part of India, it is a UN-recognized disputed territory separated from Pakistan by a line of control, not an international border, so Pakistan is well within its rights under de jure and customary international law to sponsor an armed freedom struggle in Occupied Kashmir. It is a humanitarian intervention which we are fully entitled to sponsor under the law. What Pakistan is doing in Occupied Kashmir is all completely legal, moral and humane, and don't you forget it. If the Bengalis were gong to run amok murdering non-Bengalis and waging an armed secessionist rebellion backed by hostile foreign powers, then Pakistan and its army had every right to give the Bengalis a taste of their own medicine and their natural punishment under the law. Next time let an Indian defend his own country, you shouldn't jump in to defend an enemy state. The likes of you should go to live in India if you love that country so much. And Express Tribune: have the decency to publish this comment of mine without any omissions or editing. No harm will come to your daily labor of pro-Indian propaganda by posting this one comment in response to someone who clearly made such poor arguments to defend India he weakened his own case by making them.

Amit Lunia | 9 years ago | Reply @KHAN Please let your english, history, geograpghy and grammer be right, perahsp then we can all understand what you want to say @ COAS, Pakistan Hope that these include Dawood Ibrahim also

Lord of the Ring | 9 years ago | Reply This should also include the NGOs mafia that are rotting the roots of this country for their foreign masters in greed for filthy money

the Skunk | 9 years ago | Reply COAS, Sir! The government officials claim that violence has come down by a third in comparison to the level before the operation started. However, Where are the NAMES OF THE HIGH AND MIGHTY? Nevertheless, congratulations are in order. Thank you and Salams!

Shahid | 9 years ago | Reply This clearly shows the Police doesnt exist in Karachi and is part of the mafia. The solution lies in total revamp of the Police. Army cannot operate in a city efficiently.

Ch. Allah Daad | 9 years ago | Reply Thanks to General Raheel, Pakistanis are freely moving around in every part of the country without any fear. Recently I visited Tribal areas and many areas of Baluchistan. It was a great fun. Please visit these wonderful places and enjoy.

Muhammad | 9 years ago | Reply @khan: And what has Pakistanis done anything good towards India? We have been running military campaigns inside Kashmir since 1948, then we killed our own in Bangladesh and other wars. You reap what you sow. Atleast Indians do not teach hate to their children in their schools, unlike Pakistan where Hindus are demonized. Proof of this is right in front of us. Muslim population grows in India while Hindu population has declined to be almost nil in Pakistan. We are fascist ppl ourselves so lets not put blame on others.

3rdRockFromTheSun | 9 years ago | Reply Shouldn't the army be dealing with external threats to the country, and leave the 'mafia' to the police? No wonder the army is 'over-stretched'!

Blithe | 9 years ago | Reply @khan: Stop insulting our PM . If you had any grey cells you would realise who created Maffias such as the MQM, who use them as a political poppets, who let them become the monsters. You are pointing at the wrong people – you are the idiot here

xoxo | 9 years ago | Reply Who will crush the mafia supported by Army?

Parvez | 9 years ago | Reply Brave words.....but caution is advised because every problem has its own unique solution. History shows that the establishment has one solution for all problems....and this causes more problems. But.....best of luck and I hope you'll succeed because Karachi needs you to succeed.

Uza Syed | 9 years ago | Reply @Pakistani: No, unfortunately they have not.

Last Word | 9 years ago | Reply Army is making grounds to take over and Indian news dailies are already predicting the same.

adeel | 9 years ago | Reply The problem in karachi is complex with its many layers and shades...Frankly speaking, Rangers can only do that much..after which it also starts coming apart from its seams. Lets face it, the Rangers have been around too long in the city to be called pure..!! whether we like it or not..they ARE a party in this mafia game. General Raheel should be aware of this fact and must think lateral here, else it would again be an opportunity lost...!! (khakum-b-dahan).

Muhajir | 9 years ago | Reply We are with you General. Keep up the good work.

Hasan | 9 years ago | Reply Yes, please crush the Mafia's let the peace loving, political workers live and carry out their political campaign without any attempt of profiling and media trial?

Uza Syed | 9 years ago | Reply In the name of 'mafia' whathave started is prelude a genocide. It is not on! For God sake don't convert a perfectly normal law abiding patriotic ethnic group into your enemy. Pakistan is not monopoly or fiefdom, it is a country for all and as its constitution declares it to be a democracy and if it is then we the people will decide who to vote and who to support. If we choose MAN then it would be it. Don't insult us by calling us mafia or identifying us as with them.

Pakistani | 9 years ago | Reply Army still have not learn anything from Bengal and Baluchistan.

Rex Minor | 9 years ago | Reply Does the army plan to disarm karachites and deploy the army in the streets and outside privately owned houses.. They do this in Panama tside where the army is deployed outside the Banks and private institutions as well as privately owned housing and other properties. Why not, the army earns their livelyhood direct from the citizens. Rex Minor

Whiskey Khan | 9 years ago | Reply Gen. Raheel has established a trust with the nation by working hard to give Pakistanis a secure and decent life. We all support him in his work. Hopefully he will clean the nation of the undesirables.

Yousuf | 9 years ago | Reply Easy mafias are transport mafia, lang gabbing and illegal construction mafia, police and rangers mafia, water tanker mafia.

Arfan | 9 years ago | Reply Its time to identify these vicious culprits and eradicate them.

S.R.H. Hashmi | 9 years ago | Reply The Karachi operation started under civilian control, with Chief Minister being the Captain. However, after the operation at Nine-Zero, Karachi Corps Commander went to Rangers headquarter to give their Director General a pat on the back, introducing military directly into the operation. And now with the army chief's declaration to clear the city of all mafias, the operation has fully become a military affair, with the 'Captain' nowhere in the picture, which is not such a bad thing really. He has been the Chief Minister of Sindh for seven years now, without bringing any improvement in the conditions of Karachi or elsewhere in Sindh despite the Rangers and Police have been present in the city for decades now. And the city does not even have a local government system, for which elections were not held despite local government system virtually stripped of its powers through repeated hacking down of the Sindh Local Government Act. However, there are certain points that are very worrying indeed. Like it is repeatedly claimed that the operation is being carried out across the board with no political party being targeted. However, it is a fact that the Supreme Court declared many political parties to have militant wings, but only one party's headquarter was raided and the way the people were taken into custody and treated, left much to desire. Also, Saulat Mirza was obviously facilitated inside the death cell to produce the video recordings, and have them broadcast through television channels, and the video used to bring him back from the gallows to be used against a particular political party. But equally damaging statements by Uzair Baloch have remained completely un-noticed by those who should have taken notice of it. While many officials have been given free shopping holiday to Dubai ostensibly to bring Uzair Baloch back to Pakistan, he remains comfortably lodged in Dubai prison, with nobody in particular hurry to bring him back to Pakistan. And now the army chief's resolve to clear the city of all mafias and to revive the economy means that the scope of the operation has been extended beyond purely law and order issues. However, this would require much more than the targeted operations that are being carried out presently. In fact, a move has to be made to solve the real problems of the city to achieve that objective. After all, Isn't it a shame that a city of 23.5 million is being run by remote control from interior Sindh by Peoples Party which has scarce presence in Karachi except in the Sindh Assembly building during assembly sessions. While PTI and JI's candidates contested NA-246 elections - and flopped badly - the Peoples Party did not even contest the election. Doesn't that prove something? And in order to prop up its sagging image in Lyari, the Peoples Party had to draw fifteen million rupees from state funds to shower on a public meeting in Lyari. With no performance record to talk about, Peoples Party is run in the name of (Zulfiqar Ali) Bhutto. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto deserved credit for ridding the country of Ayub Khan's martial law, for giving the country a constitution and for starting the project for nuclear bomb which remains our only deterrent against a much bigger and more powerful India. However, even ZAB's record is not entirely unblemished. His wholesale nationalization of the institutions was nothing short of their slaughter. And while Ayub Khan's mistreatment of Bengalese was the basic reason for East Pakistan's separation, ZAB's refusal to accept the overwhelming mandate of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (I here and you there) proved to be the final act in dismemberment of Pakistan. While one General Ayub Khan paved the way for Pakistan's dismemberment, another General Yehya Khan finally presided over the shameful occasion. And we are now reaping the harvest which a third General Ziaul Haq sowed by joining the American war with Soviet Russian, in order to firm up his grip on the country and to prolong his rule. And while we hate our civilian leaders for their corruption and misgovernance, some of the Generals have also played an active part in bringing the country to this sorry state. I hope those who are now involved with Karachi try to solve the problems of the city in a methodical manner, by treating the disease and not just the symptoms. The real solution of the city lies in giving the stake-holders in Karachi - the Urdu-speaking people, Pakhtuns, Sindhis and Punjabis a real stake in the running of the city by making Karachi a province instead of the city being ruled from interior Sindh by what should we call it, a mafia? I hope good sense prevails. Karachi

tajamal.ht141@yahoo.com | 9 years ago | Reply Hopefull

Aliii | 9 years ago | Reply Salute to Army chief General Raheel Sharif for all bold actions and making Pakistan a better place to live but sir long way to go !! Please eradicate the roots of Mafias in Karachi - its challenging but its a survival of Karachi & Pakistan. Pls. go ahead & we all pray for your success and its been a long time Karachi has not seen peace. All culprits should be brought to justice ASAP - ideally dragged in military courts or shoot & kill on the spot. Sometime we have to snatch peace by action

khan | 9 years ago | Reply I very much agree with COAS (unfortunately out puppet PM is so dumb). Killing of Doctors, Engineers and Teachers is certainly under some kind of a pre-planned strategy to terrorize Karachiites. I have a strong suspicion that all these killing are perpetrated by terrorists like MODI and his JANTA DAL wings. I have been advocating for long time that Pakistan shall not sit idle and should respond in kinds. By running such designs these terrorist nurturing nations (Hindustan Particularly) are trying to create an in secure image of Pakistan to isolate it Pakistan need to respond in kind. It is a very big stupidity to trust HINDUSTAN who is always looking to exploit weaknesses of PAKISTAN (e.g. taking advantage of Eastern Pakistan Situation) and turn friendly gestures (like withdrawal from SIACHIN) into military success. HINDUSTAN has shown time and time again, it's true face and stupid PAKISTANI PUPPETARIANS are working to be friendly with such a treacherous nation. These Killing in Pakistan are part of same conspiracy and our nation is blinded by HINDUSLUM movies, media, news and item dances.

pk | 9 years ago | Reply Good work chief. Keep it up and remove all these scum.

Replying to X