Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s direction to the Sindh government to expedite the pace of implementation of the SC’s judgement of October 6 regarding law and order situation in Karachi can go a long way towards restoring peace to the country’s commercial hub which saw the worst kind of violence during the first half of the current year.
The PM, who visited Karachi on Saturday held multiple back-to-back meetings throughout the day, which were also attended by Governor Ishratul Ebad, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, senior members of the cabinet and legal experts. The chief secretary and IG Sindh briefed him about the measures being taken by the provincial government for revamping the police and district administration in the light of directions of the apex court.
It was a follow-up meeting after President Asif Zardari’s detailed interaction with the leaders of the Sindh coalition in Islamabad earlier this month to find ways and means to contain growing lawlessness in the megapolis. But it remained inconclusive because the MQM, which had just returned to the fold of the government, was disinclined to discuss any issue until it was given back the portfolios it had before it walked out of the ruling coalition. Dealing with the MQM has always been a difficult proposition. There have been instances in the past when the Sindh coalition came close to falling apart as a result of bitter exchanges between the two sides but was saved by the intervention of their top leaders.
There is little reason to doubt Mr Gilani’s observation that the government would ensure swift implementation of the apex court’s verdict but it’s easier said than done. It would be difficult for the PPP leadership to act on the court’s direction through which it can exercise its authority to file a judicial reference seeking ban on a particular political party responsible for creating unrest in the city. But it can still initiate the process by purging the police and district administration of political appointees patronising criminals.
