Doomed, if the government does not get its act together
The Karachi operation seems to have entered a hazy phase. With the public, the citizen of the violence-hit city being an exception, seemingly losing their interest in what would be the outcome of the operation, how the police and the Rangers have performed so far remains unclear. Despite the law enforcers’ claiming to have arrested hardened criminals and gangsters by the hundreds, the incidents of violent crime continue unabated, taunting the authorities of their inability to sort the mess out.
In a debate about how effective the operation has been, the Rangers and police cite the number of criminals nabbed in the past few weeks, 53 just the other day. What belies their claims is the ability of the criminal elements to carry out violence when and where they want. As many as 14 people, including an ASI, were killed on Saturday in a gang war in Lyari. The bloody gang war supposedly started when members of Uzair Baloch gang tried to take shelter in the Baba Ladla gang’s turf, and the turf war has been going on for three days. The Rangers and police have been unable to clear the area, and it signifies the operation in the short-term. As for a long-term impact, this operation or any other of the sort would not produce the desired results as long as the LEAs are not trained to take on these gangsters in their own den. The success of such an operation also depends on how clean the LEAs are from the influence of the black sheep and the political parties backing certain criminal gangs. Otherwise, it would just be an exercise in futility, for the gangsters would return to the megapolis, just as they did following the last operation.
Half-hearted attempts are never going to result in what requires a full-fledged war against the gangs and mafias operating in the city. The LEAs personnel are not equipped to take on the criminals possessing high-tech weaponry. Residents of the city are terrified, under duress and have limited or no access to basic amenities of life due to the ongoing operation. As long as political parties who support these gangsters are not willing to cleanse themselves of these elements, such operations would not succeed in achieving their objectives. It appears that it is the politicians who first need to sit down together and agree on a framework to deal with the Karachi issue.
