Fragile peace?
The sudden wave of panic that engulfed Karachi the other day – after MQM’s unexpected call for rationing, etc, ahead of ‘something big’ – is the last thing Karachi needs at this point. And since MQM, as a party, is one of the city’s principal stakeholders, it is expected to be somewhat circumspect especially in sensitive times. But in light of this hysteria, and the hunger strike, it seems the city is on the verge of yet another needless complication. Now a fresh round of MQM’s grievances will take centre stage alongside PPP’s constant reservations with the Operation in the news once again.
In matters of security the numbers do the best talking. That is why for all of PPP’s outrage, and MQM’s before it, the Operation went ahead as planned. It had proved, when the percentages were calculated, that such an exercise could control crime in the metropolis to a surprising extent. The targetted killings, abductions, street crime, etc, are clearly substantially reduced, even though a lot remains to be done. For the political elite to have issues with the Operation’s fine points is one thing, but diverting official attention and resources to less pressing matters will not just sidetrack the Rangers, but also undo some of the good work they have done, which has not come without a steep price.
Yet recent developments must, once again, have proved to those at the helm of affairs that the peace they have achieved in Karachi is fragile at best. They must, after all, have factored in a degree of political opposition, even agitation, before initiating the Operation. Still there seems a degree of re-calculation every time there is a political hiccup. Perhaps some of the questions raised over the course of the last year or so – like the direction, and degree, of the Operation’s focus between crime and corruption – have not been thoroughly answered. The sooner these holes are plugged, the sooner the fragile peace will become stable and strong.
