Karachi problems

Mafia town?

Once again security agencies are in uproar about the situation in Karachi. And once again Rangers have uncovered the many layers of illegal, illicit business that run the black economy of this Mafia town. The extortion, land grabbing, target killings, gun running, etc, allegedly make for a crime economy to the tune of Rs230 billion annually. Though, as Aitzaz Ahsan demanded shortly after the disclosure, the figure will be more digestable, and indeed revealing, if the authorities chose to disclose how they came about it, and some of its breakdown.

There was a similar racket not long ago, when the then DG Rangers accused a popular party of hijacking American weapons from the Karachi port. But he seemed to have cold feet when the Supreme Court asked him to validate. The Americans, too, did not confirm his story. And then the accusations fizzled out. The more recent, more hyped, Nine-Zero operation had a similar fate, apparently. Once more there was much hue and cry, of the operation moving from party to party before it ‘cleansed’ the entire system. But sooner rather than later there was nothing of it.

If, indeed, relevant authorities are in possession of actionable evidence, then it shouldn’t be too hard to let the legal process take over and run its course from here. The charges, and evidence to back them, should be thoroughly investigated. And if there is compelling reason to proceed, then the law should appoint guilt and punishment on deserving parties. However, if this episode is just another repeat of past episodes – which failed to inspire much confidence – the government will only make its own case weaker. There is an urgent need to tackle terrorism in urban centres. Without a thorough sweep, Zarb-e-Azb will never come full circle. The government needs to display the will to take this bull by the horns. And, again, if this particular is correct, it will not have a better time to move. Otherwise it will risk more cities turning into Mafia towns.