What was it for, really?
The murder of a prominent shi’a advocate in Karachi on Wednesday, son in law of cleric/scholar Talib Johri, is just another example of how the ‘operation’ has been unable to address the city’s security situation. There has been a marginal decline in targeted murders – though they continue, as Wednesday’s episode proves – but other forms of crime, especially theft, kidnapping and extortion – continue pretty much as before. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is right in its biting criticism of the whole exercise, claiming it was an outright failure because “objectives of the operation have not been achieved”.
One prominent problem has been lack of proper planning and preparation, an aspect that has become synonymous with our security services over the years. Indeed, as duly noted in the report, the operation was launched on an “ad hoc basis without proper planning”. And we have been down this road before, even the best intended exercises run out of steam and miss targets if necessary provisions are not made. Another problem has been oversight. A redress committee was set up initially to look into excesses and ensure important lines are not crossed, but it never enjoyed any degree of credibility – precisely because the government itself did not pursue it seriously – and eventually fizzled out. Other than that, there was no independent body to oversee different phases of the operation, and one commission that was promised never materialised.
It does not help, of course, that central and provincial governments were mostly at loggerheads about one facet of the operation or another. Little surprise, then, that Karachi continues to be a safe haven for all variety of criminals plaguing our Islamic Republic. And the one thrust that the whole country counted on – one that took ages coming – has now effectively ended with little or no difference to the overall security situation. If such seriousness is accorded to the largest city, financial hub and trading port, there is little to be expected for other parts of the country, especially those areas, not far from Karachi, where nationalist tendencies are loudly calling for breaking off from the federation. The government must now take the lead in restructuring the operation, and salvage what it can of its wrecked reputation.
