The port city of Karachi is considered to be mini Pakistan. This is not due to the enormous size of the city but due the different social fabric which lives together under one roof know as Karachi. Secondly it is the industrial hub of Pakistan also being the backbone of the Pakistani economy. Thus Karachi is quite different from the rest of the country and the issues of the city such as infrastructural development, law and order access to justice and providing equal opportunities are also much complex as compared to the other parts of the country.
For the past twenty years or so Karachi has been quite unstable as far as the law and order situation is concerned. This is mainly due to the ethnic, sectarian as well as the political victimization of different political parties by the government of the day.
Thus one could say that attaining peace in Karachi is not that simple taking in mind the dynamics of the city particularly the role of different political parties as well as the ethnic andsectarian divide.
The recent wave of target killing has taken more than 3000 innocent lives this year only.Although the government especially the federal interior minister Rehman Malik tries to defuse the political temperature in the city as it is believed that this target killing is a result of political score settling amongst the main stream political parties of the city such as the MQM , ANP as well as the Lyari faction of the PPP.
However one could not deny the sectarian violence which has taken place in the recent past which starts from a bomb blast at Nishtar Park on the 12th of Rabualawal 8th May 2006 where almost the entire Sunni leadership was wiped out.
But this did not end here the violence increased after the bombing on the main Ashura Procession on 10th of Moharram where a lot of innocent women and children died. This was followed by a paid mob which set different trading centers and shop on fire. This resulted in a massive monetary loss for the traders of the city and gripped the city with panic and uncertainty.
Although the police tried to be efficient in the next procession that was on the 10th day of Safar but still couldn’t stop the bomb blast on Shah-e- Faisal and the second one at Jinnah hospitals emergency.
So the series of bomb blasts and ethnic rivalry has gripped the city for a really long time , but the sad part is that non of the key decision makers are eager to do something so that peace could be achieved in Karachi.
But still I have some suggestions through which I believe that peace could return to this city of lights. Although there should be a broad consensus amongst the different political as well as the ethnic stake holders of the city there should be a new social contract between different ethnicities living in this city which includes the Sindhis, the Urdu speaking people, the Pakhtuns as well as the Biharis, the Balochs and the Bengalis. They all should unite on the point that there should be peace in Karachi and provide ownership to the city. This would lead towards a better and credible way of governance.
Secondly the most important thing which should be done in the short term is that the police of the city should be revamped. This includes the de politicization of the police which means that appointment should be made on merit and what they know rather than who they know. It should be followed by an across the board disarmament drive and no body should be spared.
Asif Faruqi
0917141
For the past twenty years or so Karachi has been quite unstable as far as the law and order situation is concerned. This is mainly due to the ethnic, sectarian as well as the political victimization of different political parties by the government of the day.
Thus one could say that attaining peace in Karachi is not that simple taking in mind the dynamics of the city particularly the role of different political parties as well as the ethnic andsectarian divide.
The recent wave of target killing has taken more than 3000 innocent lives this year only.Although the government especially the federal interior minister Rehman Malik tries to defuse the political temperature in the city as it is believed that this target killing is a result of political score settling amongst the main stream political parties of the city such as the MQM , ANP as well as the Lyari faction of the PPP.
However one could not deny the sectarian violence which has taken place in the recent past which starts from a bomb blast at Nishtar Park on the 12th of Rabualawal 8th May 2006 where almost the entire Sunni leadership was wiped out.
But this did not end here the violence increased after the bombing on the main Ashura Procession on 10th of Moharram where a lot of innocent women and children died. This was followed by a paid mob which set different trading centers and shop on fire. This resulted in a massive monetary loss for the traders of the city and gripped the city with panic and uncertainty.
Although the police tried to be efficient in the next procession that was on the 10th day of Safar but still couldn’t stop the bomb blast on Shah-e- Faisal and the second one at Jinnah hospitals emergency.
So the series of bomb blasts and ethnic rivalry has gripped the city for a really long time , but the sad part is that non of the key decision makers are eager to do something so that peace could be achieved in Karachi.
But still I have some suggestions through which I believe that peace could return to this city of lights. Although there should be a broad consensus amongst the different political as well as the ethnic stake holders of the city there should be a new social contract between different ethnicities living in this city which includes the Sindhis, the Urdu speaking people, the Pakhtuns as well as the Biharis, the Balochs and the Bengalis. They all should unite on the point that there should be peace in Karachi and provide ownership to the city. This would lead towards a better and credible way of governance.
Secondly the most important thing which should be done in the short term is that the police of the city should be revamped. This includes the de politicization of the police which means that appointment should be made on merit and what they know rather than who they know. It should be followed by an across the board disarmament drive and no body should be spared.
Asif Faruqi
0917141
It was on 20th Safar..not 10th
ReplyDelete