The federal government on Friday indirectly confessed to the Sindh government’s failure in handling the law and order in Karachi with Interior Minister Rehman Malik saying that a parliamentary committee – comprising members from all political parties – should be formed to suggest a durable solution to the problem.
He said his ministry and the Sindh government would be at the disposal of the committee which should stay in Karachi until the resolution of the unrest in the economic hub of the country.Winding up the debate on the law and order in Karachi and Quetta in the National Assembly, Malik said the committee would be briefed about the drug and land mafia and local criminals in Karachi and all the facts would be placed before it.
“Parliament represents the entire country and it can find a solution to every issue through dialogue and negotiation,” he said, adding that marinating law and order was the prime responsibility of the respective provincial governments and the federation can only give them policy guidelines and logistic support. He said anti-state elements, rooted out from Malakand, FATA and Swat, also have connections in Karachi and they were hatching conspiracies to cripple the country, adding that such people were now using women to fulfill their designs.
“There is definitely a connection between our western borders and the Karachi unrest. Enemies present in the FATA and bordering areas are fueling the Karachi unrest. Now the enemy is using women in terrorism acts. We have told the Karachi Police that the local station house officers will be held responsible for any law and order incident in their respective areas,” he said, adding that targeted killings in the city had been controlled to some extent.
The interior minister said the accused in terrorist incidents were set free by the courts due to lack of evidence and for the purpose, the government had submitted a bill in the Senate which was pending for a and a half without any development. “If there is any problem with the bill, it should be discussed in the National Assembly,” he said.
Urging all political parties to join hands and assist the government in foiling conspiracies being hatched to destabilie the country, Malik said differences of opinion and positive criticism were the essence of democracy but one should not indulge in blame game. Meanwhile, members of the Lower House expressed concern over the unscheduled load shedding and other electricity-related problems. They called upon the government to take pragmatic measures to resolve the issue that was affecting the country’s economy.