'Impending change' in Sindh?

A sudden upsurge of sectarian violence in Karachi having shaken the citizens and the government alike, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid had said last week, soon after a string of atrocities, that President General Pervez Musharraf had taken a strong notice of the situation and was contemplating "big changes" in Sindh.
His statement had led to a strong rumour that the federal government was about to impose Governor's Rule in the province, causing serious concern among the province's political players. It now transpires that the government is not thinking about that option, though some other change is in the offing. Briefing journalists after a Federal Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Sheikh Rashid rejected the possibility of imposition of Governor's Rule but confirmed that "some" changes would take place in Sindh "within a week."
Informed circles are saying that these relate to the office of chief minister and that the government has already taken the decision to that effect. The President needs a few more days to decide who is to be the next man in.
It is a relief that even if at some point the government had thought about imposing Governor's Rule, it has been disabused of any inclination to do so.
Going by democratic principles, such a dispensation is permissible though undesirable. The Constitution allows it, and it has been repeatedly used by the Indian democracy also to bring order to its restive states. Yet Governor's Rule signifies the failure of normal democratic processes, which is not the case in Sindh at the present point in time.
In fact, given the province's turbulent recent history, the government needs to go an extra mile to make the political process work. Dismissing a fragile coalition government and administering the province directly from Islamabad can only aggravate the present atmosphere of acrimony and mutual recriminations among contending political forces, leading to unpleasant consequences. Which in turn can only contribute to a worsening of the law and order situation.
Chief Minister Ali Mohammad Maher may have his excuses for having acted as an ineffectual provincial head, but he cannot absolve himself of the responsibility for the rising incidence of violence right under his nose in the provincial capital.
While his own ouster is all but imminent, he has already made some administrative changes. A shake-up has been effected in the police administration and two senior officials have been transferred on charges of negligence of duty. But mere change of faces will not do. There is need to adopt extraordinary measures for the extraordinary situation prevailing in the province.
There are thousands of mosques and Imambargahs in Karachi, hence it is physically impossible for the police to properly guard each one of these places of worship.
The problem of indiscriminate mass violence can be better handled by involving the public in keeping vigil for potential terrorists. Mosque committees, comprising local residents, can play a useful role by maintaining a watchful eye on suspicious elements in and around the mosques and Imambargahs.
Those deemed to be individual targets, like the late Maulana Shamzai, must be helped to take proper protective measures. But, needless to say, the primary responsibility for stemming the rising tide of violence in Karachi belongs to the security agencies, especially those assigned intelligence work.
They must focus their attention and energies on gathering information on potential terrorists, rather than trying to please their political bosses. They must use that information to take pre-emptive action. Last but not the least, the government must not allow its present resolve to root out sectarian terrorism to peter out at the first sign of calm.