per annum. Since almost half of the population of Pakistan lives in Punjab and consumes almost 70 percent of electricity generated in the country (a measure of economic activity), the majority of items traded through Karachi are consumed and produced in central Punjab.
While Punjab happens to be the biggest beneficiary of the international trade through Karachi, it suffers the most due to any disruption in this trade. The lawlessness in Karachi in recent years was hurting business. Armed groups inside the MQM, and Lyari gang members were forcing importers and exporters to pay heavy extortion to let their goods pass through the port city. Businessmen were being abducted and extortion slips with bullets were a norm for everyday business life in Karachi. This subsequently made business difficult and impacted the price on which products could be bought and sold, and hence the economy of the entire country suffered.
Besides being the population hub of Pakistan, Punjab is also the political nerve-centre of the country. Every power-broker in Pakistan contends to please Punjab to secure a place in the federal power landscape. Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan, and the Pakistan Army are all trying to outdo each other to attract Punjab’s favour. Nawaz Sharif may have won Punjab’s votes in 2013, but he was finally outmanoeuvred. Soon after the change of guard at the top-most level in the military, Imran Khan’s dharna brpke Nawaz Sharif’s relative free run in power, and the army got popularity enough to aggressively tackle the long-term security related problems of the country, whether that be the Taliban or the MQM.
The current security operation in Karachi, thus, has less to do with the MQM or Karachi than with Punjab and the larger policy arena of Pakistan. After gaining popularity in Punjab, the army can now further consolidate its control on Pakistan’s foreign and security policy. Many such matters can now be decided in the GHQ without the unnecessary annoyance from the civilian government.
Sartaj Aziz, Tariq Fatmi, Khawaja Asif, and Chaudhry Nisar of team Nawaz Sharif can be as ineffective as Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Hina Rabbani Khar, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, and Rahman Malik of team Asif Zardari. The operation then appears to have a well-thought-out plan to gain further support in Punjab for the army, rather than a spur of the moment decision of a general banging his fist on the table.
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