How peace eludes Karachi
 

[CENTER][B][SIZE="5"]How peace eludes Karachi[/SIZE][/B]
Amir Zia[/CENTER]

The paramilitary rangers and the police have apparently geared up action against criminals and terrorists in Karachi in the run-up to the May 11 general elections, but the streets of this restive port city continue to remain dangerous and lawless as ever.
These days, there are more killings, crimes and violence in this megalopolis of roughly more than 18 million people than any other part of Pakistan. Yes, when it comes to killings, Karachi surpasses even the Al-Qaeda and Taliban-infested Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata), which border war-torn Afghanistan. In March, terrorism-related incidents claimed around 100 lives here. This is a higher death toll than the combined tally of 91 such killings in all of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata for the same month, according to Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based NGO.
Local media reports say that in the first 12 days of April, at least 50 people, including soldiers of the paramilitary rangers, police officials and activists belonging to various political parties, have been killed in various incidents of terrorism and religious, sectarian, ethnic and politically-motivated violence. This figure, which also includes several blind murders, stands higher than any other city, region or entire province of Pakistan during the same period.
No wonder the Supreme Court of Pakistan has been pressing the authorities, including the police and paramilitary rangers, to establish the writ of the state and rule of law in each and every neighbourhood of Karachi. This means a decisive action against criminals and terrorists without any discrimination and abolishment of all the so-called ‘no-go’ areas in the city. That’s what a vast majority of residents of Karachi also want. From a multibillionaire business tycoon to the man on the street – they all crave for peace in their city. If one asks even the much-criticised political parties and other stakeholders, including the security establishment, they too would go the extra-mile to express their commitment to this cause.
But despite this wide consensus, peace continues to elude Karachi. In fact, the five-year undiluted democratic rule will be remembered in Karachi because of the steep increase in targeted killings and kidnappings, widespread extortion, a sharp spike in bank robberies and street crime coupled with gang wars and political, ethnic and religious violence and terrorism. The former military-led government indeed did a better job in keeping a tab on lawlessness and crime in the country’s financial hub compared with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led coalition government which included the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP).
Here the important question is: why does this apparent broad-based consensus among key players fail to translate into meaningful action or give positive results? There are multiple factors for this mega failure in this mega city.
To start with is the shady role of the political, nationalist and religious parties, which are fighting a ruthless turf war to win, expand or maintain their hold on various neighbourhoods of Karachi. The aim is not just elections, but the vast financial opportunities that Karachi’s bustling markets, commercial enterprises and businesses and industries provide in the form of naked extortion or ‘voluntary donations’. Then, there is a mega-buck racket of encroachment that is patronised by secular, nationalist, religious and ethnic political forces alike. All these groups nurture, patronise and protect criminals in their ranks, which has criminalised our politics to the core – a la Bollywood.
Even the three former partners in the ruling coalition – the PPP, the MQM and the ANP – remained locked in this turf war with one another during the most part of their rule in which hundreds of people were killed. According to security officials, all major criminal gangs operating in Karachi enjoy the blessings of various political and religious parties. Their hold is strong, especially in slums, and low-income and poor localities.
Then we have the banned – but very much active – sectarian organisations, which continue to target rivals and expand their network. Many seminaries and mosques in the city serve as their hideouts and bases – with or without the knowledge of their administrations. The terror cells of these sectarian groups are also connected with pan-Islamic militant groups, including Al-Qaeda, which often collaborate with one another for major operations in Karachi and other parts of the country.
The Taliban, who once used Karachi just for rest and recreation, are also emerging as players in many Pakhtun-dominated localities of the city. They have not just brought their conflict with the ANP to Karachi, but feel strong enough to take on the MQM. While the ANP has already taken a heavy beating both physically and politically in Karachi, the MQM too appears wary of the Taliban threat that comes in the form of suicide bombings and targeted killings by hardened militants which this party is hardly in a position to deal with. The Taliban also use Karachi to raise funds – mainly through bank robberies, extortion rackets and kidnappings.
In between these major players are various small- and medium-sized political-cum-criminal mafias, which all fight and compete for a slice of Karachi’s financial cake.
The state institutions responsible to combat crime and terrorism stand compromised and are often seen as part of the problem rather than the solution.
The police department is highly politicised and corrupt and many of its senior, mid-level and junior officials have links with various gangs and politicians. The ability of police to fight terror and crime gets further compromised because of the expediency of political bosses, who protect gangs for political mileage and clout.
The paramilitary rangers – the only force that has raided the offices of various political parties – has mere policing powers to search and arrest, but not to interrogate and investigate, which limits their effectiveness. When rangers arrest suspects, the country’s flawed legal and prosecution system allows most of the known and hardened criminals and terrorists to be released on bail within a span of four to six weeks.
According to Director General Sindh Rangers Major General Rizwan Akhter, the political-cum-criminal mafias have adapted themselves to the operations conducted by his force. “People get arrested, but once handed over to the police, their patrons managed to get them out on bail and even acquitted,” he says.
The acquittal rate of criminals and terrorists, according to senior lawyers and officials of law-enforcement agencies, remains between 85 and 99 percent. The reason: absence of any protection plan for witnesses and a highly flawed investigation system that lacks modern forensic and laboratory facilities.
Even those criminals who are convicted by superior courts and handed down death sentences remain safe in jail because of the moratorium on executions slapped by the PPP-led government during its five-year rule in which only one hanging has taken place. Today, nearly 8,000 death-row convicts are sitting safe in prisons, which security personnel say encourages crime, fuels private vendetta and sometimes results in street justice. Many politically-connected criminals and terrorists who end up in jail manage to run their operations from there under the very nose of the police.
It appears to be a ‘lose-lose situation’, given the lack of political will, direction and commitment to establish rule of law in Karachi. Election 2013 is likely to bring same political forces back in to power in Sindh which failed to deliver peace and beat crime and lawlessness during their last five-year rule.
The caretaker government, the police and the paramilitary rangers have a brief window available in the pre-election days to go aggressively after terrorists, killers and extortionists not just to create conducive environment for the May 11 elections but also for sustainable peace in the city.
You talk to top officials of the police and paramilitary rangers and they promise to clean up the mess in a month’s time if political interference stops and they are given a free hand. But barring cosmetic promises and half-hearted fire-fighting measures in the pre-elections days, this desire of the law enforcers is unlikely to be fulfilled. The hard days for this luckless city are far from over.
Email: [email]amir.zia@thenews.com.pk[/email]

Source : [url]http://e.thenews.com.pk/4-15-2013/page7.asp#;[/url]