The MQM has submitted a bill to the National Assembly secretariat, seeking to cleanse the country of illegal weapons. There are many who think that presently the issue of de-weaponisation is purely Karachi-specific where acts of target killing continue to take place on a daily basis. In fact, more people are being killed every month in the metropolis than in any terrorist ridden agency in the north of the country. Since Karachi is Pakistans industrial hub, the recurrence of violence in the city needs to be urgently stopped.
Trying all other methods to ensure peace during the last three years and failing to achieve the objective, the government now hopes to do so by making the city weapons free.
Under the circumstances, the bill which calls for a countrywide ban on unauthorised manufacturing, possession and use of illicit weapons is no more than a red herring. The move is bound to be interpreted by many as a diversionary tactic aimed at diluting the issue with the express purpose of removing focus from Karachi. The purpose of the bill is to raise a number of other issues to stop the government from initiating a de-weaponisation campaign. Instead of advising the government on how to bring peace to Karachi, MQM leader Farooq Sattar has proposed the setting up of a parliamentary committee to suggest ways and means to improve the police system, community policing and other reforms. What is needed is to de-link Karachi from other issues mentioned in the bill.
By generalising the issue, the anti-weapons campaign is likely to be put on the backburner. This would amount to giving the killers in Karachi a free hand. Keeping weapons is a custom in parts of the country like Balochistan, Fata and KP where tribal traditions require people to possess weapons. In Punjab and interior Sindh, many keep the weapons for self-defence and hunting. However, weapons kept by citizens have nowhere created the type of the situation as the one presently existing in Karachi. The government would do well to leave other issues raised in the MQM bill for the time being and proceed to rid Karachi of weapons with full determination. The operation should be conducted across the board and none, including the politicians, should be given an exemption.