The row worsens
A little further and this confrontation will have serious consequences very quickly. The Karachi corps commander made amply clear how the military felt about the Sindh government’s decision by heading to the Rangers’ outfit and praising their achievements, and of course ‘sacrifices’. Rangers promptly reinforced their doubts about the Sindh government by moving SHC against the possible replacement of the Sindh Public Prosecutor. And the PPP government – by doing just that, on top of tapering down Rangers’ powers – has made this standoff more combustible.
For some time now the prime minister has been expected to talk to the Sindh government. Some expect Nawaz to engineer the sort of compromise that would allow the Operation to proceed as before. But if sections of the press are right, that thaw might already be in jeopardy. According to reports, Ch Nisar has, of course, talked this one through in considerable detail with the prime minister, and the only option Nawaz might give Sindh is an ‘unconditional extension of Rangers’ power’. Such a collision would cause the chips to fall all over the place. Qaim Ali Shah’s warnings about governor’s rule and such only make the picture grimmer.
There is clearly an urgent need for saner heads to prevail on all sides. The PPP, in its agitation, seems to overlook how dependent Karachi is on the Rangers. Nobody – not even the Sindh government itself – disputes that the Operation has brought down crime considerably. Yet the government must also ensure institutional jurisdiction is respected. However, normalcy will not begin to return unless all parties back down from extreme positions. Further escalation will further compromise the Operation with the risk of Karachi once again plunging into turmoil. It is now the prime minister’s duty to resolve this conflict. Too much time, effort and blood has gone into the Karachi Operation for it to fizzle out like this.
The apprehensions of the Editorial are absolutely correct. All trouble started when Rangers raided the Corruption Houses feeding Bilawal House and arrested Dr Asim, the man who holds a Pandora's box under him. Much is coming out after the NAB took possession of Dr Asim and this is what the PPP local leadership and Leadership in exile is afraid of. The Extreme position – mentions the Editorial – is more to save PPP leadeship and their House of Corruption. In between, the all Important Karachi Operation has been suspended or likely to and that would bring more disaster to this hostage city. The King-Kong has returned back – partly ( the MQM Mayor). So ? Gulshan ka khuda Haafiz.
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