Neither desirable, nor feasible

Acrimonious exchanges between the ANP and MQM senators over the unending spree of killings in Karachi led two senators, of the ANP and one belonging to JUI-F, call for handing over Karachi to the army for some time to restore peace. They also demanded to make the city weapons-free.
An ANP senator blamed the Sindh government, rangers and police for having failed and said the way out was to hand over the country's industrial hub and port city immediately to the army. The JUI-F senator, who is also a cabinet minister, accused both the provincial and federal administrations of not doing enough to stop the killings. The ANP and MQM have faulted each other during the last two years for being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent people.
As Karachi is a city inhabited by people from all the four provinces and Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, the situation in Karachi has perturbed people all over the country. Attempts made by the federal government, so far, to put an end to the bloodletting have produced no results. The interior minister has visited Karachi, several times, to try to improve the situation and has promised at the conclusion of every visit that the killings would soon end. The prime minister has held numerous meetings with the provincial leadership of the MQM and ANP, calling on them to work together for peace in the city.
Similar overtures have been made by the president but all these attempts have failed to bring peace. Meanwhile, the killings and the violent protests that invariably follow, continue to cause serious losses to the national economy. In just two days of violence last week, when the activities of the industrial and commercial sectors came to a grinding halt, Karachi traders suffered losses amounting to Rs 10 billion. Many in this country believe that the criminals have crossed all limits and something has to be done to bring them to justice. The coalition in Sindh has, in fact, let down those who believed that with the major stakeholders jointly ruling Sindh, the province would enjoy peace.
Handing over the city to the army, however, is highly undesirable for a number of reasons. Those who support democracy maintain that the army, despite its efficiency and discipline, lacks an understanding of the complexities of society, as well as the finesse to resolve them. Trained to fight wars, it develops a mindset which simplistically reduces everything into black and white, without taking into account the nuances. The army relies on force as a panacea for all problems.
What one has seen happening forces one to conclude that the army's tackling of complicated social issues creates more problems than it resolves. Many think that the violence in Karachi is, in fact, the outcome of the Zia and Musharraf military rule. The army can be useful in tackling emergencies requiring engineering, expertise or communication skills under the guidance of the civil government. Similarly, it can be of use in dealing with armed terrorist groups holding an area and challenging the writ of the state. However, it is highly dangerous on the part of the civil government to hand over its own responsibility, to maintain social peace, to the army as it amounts to the admission that it lacks the ability to govern. Among other things, this can strengthen political ambitions in the army.
Calling in the army is also not feasible under the present circumstances. Over 200,000 troops are presently committed to Fata and the Malakand agency. The army is busy suppressing militants in these areas, while in others it is involved in crucial rehabilitation and development work. With India still unwilling to restart the stalled composite dialogue, tension on the country's eastern border continues unabated, requiring the stationing of bulk of the troops along the international border and LoC. To top it all, a considerable number of troops are engaged in dealing with the disaster of the century, caused by the unprecedented monsoon rains and the subsequent flooding of the rivers. To call in the army to control a city with an eight-digit population is, therefore, highly impractical.
There is a need on the part of the PPP, MQM and ANP to realise that it is their duty to establish peace in Karachi at all costs. What is at stake is their credibility. Instead of indulging in a blame game, they should agree, genuinely this time, to join hands to fight the criminals, irrespective of their party affiliations.
In case the police are not capable of dealing with the situation, the provincial government should make better use of the Rangers, who should be given more powers needed to restore peace. If the government wants to de-weaponise the city, the best way is to do it through the Rangers. The initiative taken by the ANP by sending a top-level delegation for talks with the MQM is a welcome step. It should be reciprocated by others. There is a need on the part of the coalition partners to sit together and honestly agree to punish the criminals. In case they fail to do this, they would be held responsible for upsetting the apple cart.