The game is changing

Without any doubt, the Rangers’ raid on the fortified headquarters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in Karachi early on Wednesday morning has the potential of changing the game not just in a deeply wounded city. It will have national consequences in the context of the army-led campaign that has been defined in the National Action Plan.
We know that an operation has been in progress in Karachi for well over a year and there has been a lot of action in various localities, particularly in Lyari. But this week’s developments have to be seen against the backdrop of the ‘war’ that was launched after the massacre of our schoolchildren in Peshawar on December 16 last year.
In many crucial ways, the national environment has changed and we have been promised that the war against terrorists and militants will be waged without any discrimination. In that sense, the Karachi operation has now been plugged into the national campaign. Another dimension in this complex equation is the focus on the state of governance in the province of Sindh.
At one level, the MQM was already seen to be in some turmoil. Even before Wednesday’s spectacular action by the Rangers there were comments in the media about disarray in the party, with its leader Altaf Hussain speaking in different voices and shuffling the central leadership at will. This month’s ‘Newsline’ has its cover story on whether the party, in a proverbial sense, is over. We have to be mindful of Altaf Hussain’s difficulties with the law in London.
We will see how MQM braves this storm. One is reminded of the operations that were launched against the party in the nineties. But it is also obvious that this, as they say, is a whole new ballgame. Times have changed and so has MQM. For that matter, Karachi, too, is not the same city. Its demographic and political complexion has considerably been transformed. Essentially, the MQM no longer is the only game in town.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s raid has again certified the great challenge that Karachi poses to its administrators. With all its potential, the city is continuing to languish in pain and distress. The Pakistan People’s Party and the MQM are both responsible for what can be described as the plunder of the richest city of the country. They have done it either in collusion or in rivalry. Perhaps the law and order situation is just the tip of the iceberg.
On this point, I am tempted to assert – one more time – that the battle for Pakistan’s survival as a modern state will have to be fought and won in Karachi. Taking out criminals from its political networks is a small part of the solution. What we need in the city is the kind of peace and harmony that can create social capital and unleash the creativity of its people and its educational and cultural institutions.
There is this ‘I Am Karachi’ initiative and as a member of the Karachi consortium of civil society activists, I had joined the meeting that was held on Thursday with the commissioner of Karachi and the deputy commissioners of its districts to explore ways in which the administration could collaborate with the civil society to establish peace and promote culture. It was decided to celebrate ‘I Am Karachi Day’ on April 12.
This idea has to be visualised on a national scale. Pakistan is woefully deficient in the moral and intellectual resources that sustain a vibrant society. What we have is a reign of fear and intolerance. Hence, the first task of the rulers should be to eliminate all sources of organised violence and extremism from all parts of the country. One problem is that most of these outfits proclaim a religious identity and the state itself is wedded to religion. That is how many Pakistanis look at the Taliban and their associates as blood relatives. Do they, the rulers, reflect on these fundamental complexities of an ideological variety?
The MQM does not, of course, belong in this category. It is professedly secular in its political stance. At the same time, its proclivity for violence is well established. On the face of it, arrests made in the Rangers’ raid justify the action that was taken. But this also underlines the imperative to demonstrate the same resolve and efficiency in going after religious organisations that harbour armed groups. There are localities in Karachi that are believed to be infested with militants, particularly of the sectarian grade. We need transparency in the execution of anti-terror policy.
The point, simply, is that our law-enforcement agencies must be seen to be even-handed and forthright in their handling of specific situations. There certainly are some problems in how the media would cover these operations because of the pressures and the precautions that it has to bear. Confusion can also emanate from incidents like the murder of a young MQM worker in the immediate aftermath of the raid.
Anyhow, what the Rangers have shown to have accomplished in that pre-dawn raid on Nine Zero and its surroundings is astounding. They claimed to have arrested dozens of activists, including convicted criminals. A huge quantity of weapons was also seized. It was alleged that about half a dozen target killers were apprehended, including Faisal Mehmood aka Mota who was condemned to death by a court for his involvement in the murder of Wali Khan Babar, the Geo reporter.
We need not go into details but visuals seen on television screens present a grim picture of proceedings that Karachiites could not have imagined. An important leader of the party, Amir Khan, was shown handcuffed and later blindfolded. On Thursday, the Rangers informed an anti-terrorism court that 28 suspects, including Amir Khan, picked up during Wednesday’s raid, were being placed under 90 days of preventive detention for questioning. The suspects were shown walking blindfolded. Another 26 were remanded in police custody in cases relating to possession of illicit weapons and explosive substances.
It has to be noted that the MQM’s response to these dramatic developments has not been very aggressive. On Wednesday, Karachi was almost totally shut down and there was partial lockdown on Thursday. But normal activities have now been resumed. This, however, does not mean that aftershocks of what happened on Wednesday are not felt across the city. There is bound to be a sense of bewilderment over these developments.
And a lot more will happen in the coming days. With so many suspects under interrogation, more surprises may be in the offing. But we aspire for an outcome that will make Pakistan safe for freedom and justice.
The writer is a staff member.
Email: ghazi_salahuddin@hotmail.com