Law and order breakdown in Karachi
In Karachi, only the VVIPs travelling in bullet proof vehicles and surrounded by personal guards are assured of safety. Leaving the common people at the mercy of the killers, a fairly large number of Police and Rangers act as security details for the VVIPs. A variety of killers, therefore, are having a field day. On Friday and Saturday alone, thirty people died taking the toll of the last week to around one hundred. With Muharram approaching, it is natural for people to feel perturbed.
In September last year, a five-member bench of the SC heard government officials, security agencies and politicians from different parties to evolve suggestions for the improvement in law and order. The suggestions that were finally announced included an operation to cleanse the city of illegal weapons, depoliticisation of police, effective legislation against land mafia, end of no-go areas, action against bhatta mafia, issuance of arms licences only through NADRA and a joint Police-NADRA cell for action against illegal aliens. Thanks to the lack of action on the part of the administration, 1,800 more have been killed since.
Karachi suffers from a combination of factors that include the federal government’s peculiar policy of reconciliation, bad governance and inefficiency of the security agencies. While desperate ailments require desperate remedies, the coalition administration in Karachi is unwilling to go beyond routine measures like prohibition of pillion riding and warnings to police officials. Last week, it was revealed before another SC bench that some of the hardened criminals, including those involved in multiple murders, had been released on parole on the orders of the provincial administration, obviously on account of political exigencies.
It is on account of these factors that a variety of killers continue to strike with impunity in the city. A section of the militants has singled out the members of the Shia community while another has attacked the in-service and retired security personnel and their family members. Last week, the Sachal Rangers’ residential complex was attacked by the militants. That the Rangers were unable to ensure their own security sent a demoralising message to the common man. Gang warfare too continues to rage in the city. The discovery of several tortured bodies stuffed in guinea bags leads one to conclude that there are several torture centres in the city. Unless the civilian law enforcement agencies undertake a well-coordinated operation to clean up and seize weapons, arrest killers and put an end to no-go areas, the demand by the business community for military action in Karachi would be voiced by other sections of society also.
