Lyari: Battlefield in Karachi

After it is mixed up with politics, the law enforcement agencies failed to bring under control organized crime over the week-long operation, in Lyari, the part of Karachi.

As a traditional stronghold of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP), Lyari once perceived a safe constituency for Bilawal Bhutto, the son of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and Chairman of the party.

A year back, the PPP started declaring Peoples’ Amn Committee, which is being targeted now, as a wing of the party. The ruling PPP used to defend the group while the coalition partner, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), used to accuse it of being a militant-cum extortionist outfit.

The Sindh government on Thursday asked those resisting the police and Crime Investigation Department (CID) to lay down arms within next two days and surrender them before the authorities.

In quite an unprecedented move, Uzair Baloch, the presently head of the banned PAC, offered to surrender himself to the Rangers but not the police. He said he had little in the provincial government and other law enforcement agencies.

Many questions needed to be answered, foremost being the presence of heavy weapons and ammunitions in the area, as Lyari is part of Karachi not Waziristan.

How and through what means all this weaponry made its way to a thickly populated part of the largest city of the country? Are law enforcement and security agencies negligent on part of the certain elements or provincial government is responsible for all the mess?

In the shortest history of the city, the gang-war has taken a fairly large toll of lives. In the meantime, the police operation affected the lives of over a million people, mostly commoners and middle class workers.

Lives of the commoners become hard with powers outage and gas cut off in the area while schools are shut down and examinations have been put off.

A number of innocent citizens lost their lives or sustained injuries in exchange of firing between security forces and militants. If the ongoing operation is further continued, the nation will has to face serious consequences for the economy.

The authorities concerned should bring the matter to logical peaceful conclusion. However, they should be considered the haste does not endanger the lives of the non-combatants.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=21542

Posted by Faisal Farooq on May 5 2012. Filed under Opinion, Pakistan, Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.