Director General Pakistan Rangers Sindh, Major General Muhammad Ejaz Chaudhry's submissions before a special bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday regarding the grim Karachi situation may be shocking, yet they are not far from the truth. Speaking from experience, he told the court that he had taken part in Pakistan Army's operation Rah-e-Nijat against Waziristan-based terrorists, but the law and order situation in Karachi is worse than the militancy-hit tribal region.
The reason is not hard to fathom. The security forces fighting the militants know the bad guys and have the freedom to confront and crush them as and when required whereas in the case of Karachi, the law enforcers have been in the middle of a muddle where the good and the bad have been sitting together as partners in government and fighting turf battles out on the city streets through their respective mafias of killers and extortionists.
The DG Rangers explained that political and religious parties had their own armed groups who are involved in criminal activities using illicit weapons. They operate from their respective parties' offices where they take refuge, and to which the Rangers are denied access.
He said that in the past, the Rangers used to provide back-up support to the police, that practice too was discontinued and the paramilitary force's powers curtailed. These are not startling revelations, but only a formal affirmation of what is known for long. Unfortunately, however, different political and religious parties have been letting their urge for greater influence override considerations for public safety and security.
Things cannot be allowed to go on as usual. Yet it is useless to expect that those responsible for dragging Karachi to the brink of disaster will mend their ways once the spotlight is off them. What is needed is an even-handed clean-up operation by a neutral force. Some have suggested calling in the Army to restore order.
Others have expressed serious reservations on this score, partly out of fear it will give the soldiers an opportunity to regain political influence, and partly because military action in the early 1990s brought only a temporary relief. One thing all agree on is that the rule of law must be restored urgently and effectively. The best option for now is to empower the police and the Rangers to work together to break the back of criminal gangs and their nexus with various political and religious groups.
The DG Rangers told the court that the Sindh government had delegated some powers to his force, but it needed more freedom to act. A few days earlier, he had rightly pointed out that it will take time to nab all the criminals, and that, they might return when the present operation is over. Common sense suggests that they would want to lie low for a while to escape arrest, and resurface later.
Hence, the operation should continue for a longer time. But it need not be open-ended. It ought to be a properly planned operation with a specified timeframe. Meanwhile, the civil society and media need to keep a vigilant eye to ensure no one concerned falters. Karachi must have its peace back at all costs.