Apropos Karachi Apex Committee moot

Solutions, not resolutions

A retired SP was killed a day after the Karachi Apex Committee took major decisions including across the board operation at an increased tempo and changes in the province’s top bureaucracy. The inquiry into the Ismailis’ killings meanwhile continues. The urge to interpret incidents in the light of preconceived notions and to relay the premature conclusions to media needs to be kept under control to avoid subsequent embarrassment as initial findings often turn out to be untrue. Karachi is a mega city with a population of over 20 million. Over the years different varieties of terrorists and criminals with different specialties have ensconced themselves in the city. As long as intelligence reports from all security agencies, military as well as civilian, are not collated at one forum, a true picture cannot emerge. This is what needs to be done in the short term.

There are no quick fixes to bring the situation in Karachi under control. What the city needs before anything else is a neutral, efficient and professional bureaucracy including police officers. Having lived in Sindh or worked in the province for years, the members of provincial bureaucracy have their ears to the ground. Outsiders like the Rangers can be immensely helpful for brief surgical operations but they are not a long term solution. There is also a dire need to increase the number of police personnel and provide them equipment needed for investigation and for countering the criminals.

It is disturbing to note that incidents like the killings of the Ismailies continue to take place five months after the Army Public School attack. There is a perception that things would have been better if the PML-N leadership’s resolution to enforce the National Action Plan and activate NADRA had not wilted under the pressure of religious and sectarian lobbies. Excuses were invented and difficulties cited by government leaders while the common man expects them to find solutions for difficulties. It’s time the government implemented the NAP and put life in NACTA.