Karachi Violence: More Dead, Less Action
Talk, talk and more talk. For two days now, the bodies have been piling up — perhaps not in as large numbers as before, but piling up nonetheless — yet nothing substantial is being done about the raging violence in Karachi.
On the one hand, Interior Minister Rehman Malik says he will give the Rangers more powers. But on the other, Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza says no operation can be conducted without his approval; this, after it was announced in the news that operations will be launched in PIB colony, Aziz Bhatti, Lyari and Dalmia, the result of which large groups gathered in Lyari to protest.
For the past two to three days now, representatives from the MQM, ANP and PPP have been appearing on news talk shows. But there is nothing new the politicians have to offer to the discourse on tackling the bloody situation in Karachi. They are only restating what they have said before. While they all publicly agree that an across-the-board crackdown should be conducted regardless of what ethnic background the criminals belong to and that if there are criminals within their rank and file, then action should be taken against them too, the discussion just isn’t moving on from there.
In fact, at some point or the other, they start questioning each other’s conduct and begin a “we-did-this-but-what-did-you-do” argument. They call each other ‘bhai’ and in the same breath accuse the other of wrongdoing and inaction. And the discussion eventually comes full circle and ends with the elusive mafias and gangs that are operating in Karachi that must be eliminated.
It seems that where there is emphasis on taking action, just what kind of action is necessary and is legal has not been debated enough, or decided.
Do you have faith in the quality and evenness of a potential crackdown? Do you think the army is best suited for the job? Vote below:
Should the army be called in to Karachi to implement an across-the-board crackdown on criminal gangs?
- Yes (56%, 251 Votes)
- No (43%, 193 Votes)
- Undecided (1%, 12 Votes)
Total Voters: 447
Farieha Aziz is a Karachi-based journalist and teacher. She joined Newsline in 2007, rising to assistant editor. Farieha was awarded the APNS award for Best Investigative Report (Business/Economic) for the year 2007-2008. She is a co-founder and Director at Bolo Bhi, an advocacy forum of Digital Rights.
