A high-level meeting at the Presidency held to discuss the law and order situation in Karachi ruled out a proposal to call in the Pakistan Army to restore peace to the city, deciding that the civilian government would be given another opportunity with a changed strategy to apprehend criminals and control the spiraling violence.
The meeting, which was chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari, also discussed a proposal to appoint Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khurshid Shah the Sindh chief minister and tasking him with taking all political parties on board over the unabated violence in the country’s powerhouse. However, the proposal was rejected by a majority of participants.
Sources said it was decided that the Sindh government should be given another chance to restore peace to Karachi, as major changes in the Sindh government would be politically harmful for the PPP. The sources said the PPP Sindh cabinet members also criticised the MQM’s role vis-à-vis’ the Karachi situation, with the participants saying the MQM was only criticising the government and playing no role for restoring peace in the city. He said President Zardari directed the Sindh cabinet members to also redress ANP’s concerns, so that both parties could control the situation in Karachi. Syed Khursheed Shah, Murad Ali Shah, Agha Siraj Durrani and Sharjeel Memon were among those who attended the meeting.
Zardari rules out army action in Karachi, replacing Sindh CM
