Army chief gives new direction to Karachi operation

In the coming days and weeks, one may witness a new direction given to the Karachi targeted operation. The strong-worded statement of the Army Chief General Raheel Sharif against political interference in the police functioning is considered the most significant. But, can the police be depoliticized?
His statement in the apex committee meeting, presided by the Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif where former president Asif Ali Zardari was also present, gave a clear message to the political leadership.
Political interference in the police selection process has always been an issue in Sindh. The other factor is the induction of non-local police whereas in major parts of the world emphasis has always been on the induction of local police but without any political interference.
One of the reasons why the previous operation against terrorists and militants could not be successful was political interference in the police functioning.His statement gave a new direction to the Karachi operation and a message to the political leadership to stop interfering in the police functioning.
This also includes future recruitment in the police, which the apex committee may look into, in order to minimize political interference.The apex committee, which includes the Singh chief minister and governor and the corps commander, also needs to look into the mechanism to depoliticize police. The Police Order, 2002 and National Public Safety Commission provide the way forward. The other factor which they have to look into is to make the police professional and appoint locals purely on merit.
The prime minister and the army chief both came to Karachi at a crucial time when questions were raised about the possible outcome of the operation. Hype was created about the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report on 2012, Baldia Factor Fire case in which 258 people had been burnt alive.
The prime minister termed the incident “very grave” and sought complete briefing meaning something more than the one mentioned in the JIT. His statement indicates that fresh investigation may be held other than the case already pending with the sessions court against the owner and the management of the factory.
The joint visit of the prime minister and the army chief, where they held joint as well as separate meetings all linked to the Karachi operation, means a decisive phase of the operation will start in the next couple of days and the army would be practically looking into its different aspects including non-interference in the police functioning.
Thus, both the Rangers and the police will now have a free hand. There are also reports that they may also launch an operation against the alleged “militant wings” of different political and religious groups.
While the PM laid stress on the implementation of the National Action Plan and performance of the apex committee, the army chief was very specific on the law and order situation in Karachi and termed the city the backbone of the country’s economy.
Interestingly, on the sidelines of the meeting on law and order, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari held one-on-one meeting. They met at a time when Mr. Zardari expressed concern over the appointment of a federal minister as Governor Gilgit-Baltistan. Some reports suggest that Mr. Zardari expressed his reservations about the appointment and advised Mr. Sharif to appoint an apolitical person.
Mr. Zardari’s meeting with Sharif has come days after his meeting with Federal Minister Khawaja Saeed Rafiq on the Senate elections.
Mr. Sharif knows he requires the PPP’s support and the possibility of a consensus between the PML-N and the PPP on the post-Senate elections cannot be ruled out. Mr. Zardari is trying to forge a consensus on the election for the Senate chairman and deputy chairman. The ball is now in Sharif’s court. Can he give the post of deputy chairman to the PPP?
The PM did not meet the leadership of MQM, as they had agreed to join hands with the PPP and will soon join the Sindh government.
However, the MQM leadership has delayed its joining and would like to monitor the new phase of the operation as they fear that they could be the target. They may delay the joining till the Senate election.
The presence of the top civil and military leadership in Karachi and the kind of decision they have taken once again gives “hope” to the people. But, both the PM and army chief have to watch the operation very closely and ensure that it remains focused on militancy and not on politics.
The army chief in particularly has to looked into the operation’s political outcome as well. The 1992 operation could have been successful if it had not been politicized by the agencies to create a split in MQM.
A focused operation can bring good results but to stop political interference in the police functioning would be an uphill task. Let’s see what measures will follow after this meeting. We still await the National Monitoring Committee, which the PM had announced during his last visit and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar was supposed to make the announcement.
The two Sharifs need to visit more in order to keep pressure on the authorities to act effectively. Now the Rangers with more powers would be seen more active than the police.The writer is the senior analyst and columnist of GEO, The News and Jang