Violence in Karachi - Ibrat

Violence in Karachi

Ibrat

VIOLENCE erupted between the Urdu- and Pashtu-speaking populations in Karachi on Saturday…. Markets in many places were forced to pull down their shutters as life came to a halt.

Dangerous tensions … between these two ethnic groups simmer constantly in the mega city…. They increased in recent weeks when the MQM raised the issue of Talibanisation….

The holding of a joint press conference by Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza and leaders of the MQM and ANP was an encouraging step taken by the Sindh government. Coalition partners categorically said that no one would be allowed to disturb the city’s peace.

Karachi is braving an unchecked inflow of people which is creating a serious problem in Pakistan’s business capital. A large population of Afghans has settled in thickly populated areas. No registration is carried out and the government does not have details as to why they have come and what they are doing here. A large number of illegal aliens … coming into this city … were getting national identity cards … and no one was looking into the matter. This situation has created many fears and apprehensions about law and order. The increase in crime in the city is a manifestation of the same trend.

In fact no serious attempt was made to register the Afghans and recover arms.…The law and order situation in Karachi is a very serious issue as coalition partners have big political stakes in this regard. It was their duty to observe restraint as Saturday’s violence has once again given the impression that it is easy to disturb the law and order of this huge metropolis. But it is very difficult to establish some kind of lasting harmony…. This can only be achieved when coalition partners who are direct stakeholders in this city rise above party politics.

People too deserve a safer living environment. To restore peace in Karachi, there is an urgent need to conduct an operation without resorting to any discrimination to recover arms and flush out Afghan and other illegal migrants. Karachi’s political players need to play a role. All parties without any political considerations should extend their cooperation so that this business hub can be made into an arms-free zone. There should be no political expediency on the question of flushing out illegal immigrants and recovering arms which is the root cause of the disturbed law and order and … the eruption of violence…. This should be made clear to the people … as it is the only solution to Karachi’s unfortunate tendency to erupt into violence unexpectedly. — (Nov 30)

— Selected and translated by Sohail Sangi.