Another turn in killing spree
Some thirteen lives were lost in yet another tragic dimension to the ongoing killing spree in Karachi. This time the locale shifted to Malir and Landhi where MQM(Haqiqi) reportedly attacked MQM offices in an attempt to stage a comeback. The tendency to resolve political differences with the barrel of the gun is highly dangerous. That this should continue to characterise politics in Karachi, the country’s largest city and its industrial hub, is a reflection on the performance of the ruling coalitions, both in Sindh and at the federal level. The incident raises concerns regarding individual target killing getting transformed into open warfare between trigger happy gangs. MQM had earlier suggested that the Haqiqi group was being prepared by Zulfiqar Mirza to take it on. This time MQM Senator Sajid Ahmad has accused the senior Sindh minister of using elements from Lyari, declared last week by Zardari as a permanent PPP stronghold, in the attacks.
The MQM which has recently joined the government faces a dilemma. It is under pressure from its supporters to react strongly to the attacks. It cannot, however, continue the game of resigning from, and then rejoining, the ruling coalition ad infinitum. While its legislators have staged symbolic walkouts from Sindh Assembly, National Assembly and Senate, the response from its leadership this time has been uncharacteristically restrained. Altaf Hussain has said that his party believes in harmony and brotherhood and that it is making all effort for peace and stability in the city, but “criminals” through their moves are attempting to foil its efforts. Similarly, Faisal Subzwari has assured of MQM’s cooperation in every effort for peace in Karachi.
There was a consensus both in the National Assembly and Senate that federal government needs to take effective steps to bring the situation under control. The Prime Minister on his part urged the country’s political leadership to come up with a solution to improve the situation, indicating that the government had run short of initiatives. When coalition partners in Sindh, best suited to resolve the situation, continue to blame one another for indulging in violence, the assurance by Gilani that things will be brought to normal would sound empty to many.
