Pakistan Today carried lead news the other day about the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi that saw 31 people killed with large number of vehicles torched.
Things are really in ugly shape and appear to have gone out of the control of Sindh government. Peace rallies, taking notices, assuring people about safety and security of their property, dispatching Interior Minister to Karachi have had no effect at all. People keep receiving dead bodies of their dear and near ones.
People of Karachi in the affected areas have started migrating to other places to save their lives. Overall, the people of Karachi are suffering from deep sense of insecurity, anxiety, frustration, low morale and sense of hopelessness.
There is a total collapse of administration and different mafias are operating fully armed without any fear of accountability mainly due to patronisation of vested interests. Political mileage through violence has become the order of the day.
When Karachi is bleeding and innocent people are being killed on daily basis, our opposition parties are busy in staging walkouts from the assemblies on Karachi situation. What a tragedy that people who voted these leaders to come to power instead of fighting for their cause chose to keep themselves away. If that be the case, what is the solution to the problem? Best solution under the existing pathetic condition is deweaponisation of Karachi.
The government should understand if Karachi gets disturbed, it affects the entire country. The solution of the problem does not lie in holding meetings, conferences, deployment of Rangers, taking out peace rallies, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani showing concerns, FC being given powers of police; these measures have been tried in the past with no results.
This time again results will be no different. At present the immediate problem is to establish the writ of the government, rule of law and accountability above board without any discrimination, without any reconciliation, without any compromises, without any concessions and no friendships.
Time has come to call the army in aid of civil power under the article 245 of the constitution to restore the writ of the government and kill the problem once for all. Ruthless action is needed against all type of mafias and law breakers. People arrested should be tried in special courts and punished without wasting any more time. Nothing short of this is going to work.
LT COL (Retd) MUKHTAR AHMED BUTT
Karachi
