Stop influx of illegal arms into city: senators call for deweaponising Karachi

The senators apparently beset by increasing violence in the city of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, stressed the need to deweaponise Karachi, and restore normalcy there. Speaking on a resolution urging the government to take effective steps to deweaponise Karachi in view of prevailing law and order situation in the city, which was moved by Awami National Party (ANP) senator Shahi Syed, they said: "deweaponisation is the only solution to bring peace."
Ideas for what is called "deweaponisation", or confiscating illegal arms, in the violence-plagued city had long been floated by both friends and foes of the MQM, to be countered by the Karachi-based party with its demand for a more daunting nation-wide deweaponisation.
Parliamentary leader of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi called for complete deweaponization of the country and termed the idea to clean Karachi from weapons as discriminatory. He said the city of lights and the hub of trade and commerce has become hub of the terrorist activities and suggested steps to depoliticize the police to tackle the situation. "The police have become highly politicised and you have to find out where these weapons come from [and] the SHOs of all police stations know it," he added.
The polarised and politically charged climate, he added, creates law and order situations that are underpinned by political motivations. "It's futile to expect the efficiency of the police to increase as long as it continues to be so disgracefully politicised as it has been for the last several decades," he added. Senator Saeed Ghani of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) said that he was shocked to hear from Mashhadi that deweaponizing Karachi will be discrimination and maintained that proliferation of weapons has taken violence to another level in Karachi. "Let's us start it [deweapiniztion] from Karachi to set an example," he added. Senator Forough Nasim of MQM called for taking urgent measures to stop the influx of illegal weapons into the city. He said that continuous influx of sophisticated weapons, non-stop splintering of well armed militant groups should be tackled.
Senator Muhammad Hamza of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said that from hand grenades to Kalashinkovs to Uzis to rocket launchers - you name it and this city has stockpiles of these lethal weapons. From political party workers and their affiliates to mafias and petty thieves to ordinary citizens, he said, everybody is in possession of weapons and most do not hesitate to use them.
He accused the provincial government of wilfully politicising the police by giving them out of turn promotion. If a governor, who is supposed to be the guardian of a province, will start issuing ordinance to serve vested interests, he lamented, police could not establish writ of the government how hard he tries. Quickly responding to the criticism, Saeed Ghani of PPP insisted that it was the prerogative of the provincial chief executive to give out of turn promotions whosoever he likes, which had also been accepted by the courts.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who could not turn up to the house due to cough and cold, was also decried by the MPS, saying he should have at least sent his deputy minister to respond to their queries. Senator Kalsoom Perveen demanded of the government to take serious action against those circulating text messages, blaming Pakistan army of attacking Malala Yousafzai.
"We're getting messages that it was army which attacked Malala to pave the way for launching operation in North Waziristan Agency...this is ridiculous and anybody who is found of maligning the army should be taken to task", she maintained. The house was adjourned to meet again on Tuesday at 10am.