The indictment

The indictment

With a government found complicit, who will administer the treatment?

It is a combination of perceptible predictability and an eerie unpredictability that characterise the political and security environment prevailing in the country. The predictability factor relates to the manner in which the political mafias have indulged in wanton loot of the country’s riches, deprived the people of their inherent right to security and rendered the system corrupt and completely untenable. But the grave challenges this multi-faceted rampage is likely to throw up for the country’s sovereign existence remain predominantly a matter of conjecture.

The Supreme Court judgement in the suo motu notice of the security situation in Karachi is a powerful indictment of the sitting governments at the centre and in Sindh. The vast repertoire of observations, the stated and implied centres of blame, the manner in which the governance responsibilities have been abdicated at the altar of personal survival resulting in a surge of crime and loot, and the invocation to initiate remedial steps are all based on the premise that the government stands indicted. In its comprehensive judgement, the apex court observed: “…overwhelming material is available on record to persuade us to form an opinion that bloodshed, arson, kidnapping/abduction for ransom, widespread violence, illegal collection of money (bhatta) from traders, etc. were being committed within the knowledge of the State through Provincial Government /Executive, but it remained a silent spectator and, prima facie, failed to take appropriate action, may be for some political reasons. But, the Constitution does not allow the Executive to compromise its position at the cost of innocent citizens who lost their lives, property, liberty and dignity because of the expediency of the Provincial and Federal Governments”. This is as incisive as any indictment can be. The court has held the Federal and the Provincial Governments directly responsible for the destruction that Karachi has witnessed in the recent and not so recent past and has also highlighted their inability and lack of willingness to take remedial measures because of ‘political considerations’.

The judgement is also an indictment of the political parties that are accused of patronising criminals and nurturing militant cadres within their ranks.

Holding the governments responsible for the mayhem, the court, as remedial measures, has recommended that police force should be de-politicised and strengthened, political parties should denounce their affiliation with criminals, boundaries of administrative units like police stations and revenue estates should be altered so that members of different communities may live together in peace and harmony, Karachi should be cleansed of all kinds of weapons by adhering to laws available on the subject and, if need be, by promulgating new legislation, a comprehensive new law should be promulgated to eliminate and punish land grabbers and encroachers, ‘no go’ areas in Karachi should be eliminated, an independent and a de-politicised agency should be deputed to conduct investigation of cases fairly, honestly and without being influenced in any manner and DG NADRA and IGP should set up a special joint cell with specialised officials and experts to identify illegal foreigners so that they could be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of law. The judgement further stated that the IGP will present a report to the court about the disappearance or elimination of police or other officials who took part in the Karachi operations of 1992 and 1996 and the Federal Government should move under Article 17 of the Constitution against any party for actions that are, directly or indirectly, prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan. A committee will be constituted, headed by the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court, to supervise and ensure that law-enforcement agencies take action indiscriminately across the board against the perpetrators involved in causing disturbances in Karachi.

If one tries to evaluate this prescription against the hasty embrace that brought the two estranged partners of the coalition government in Sindh and Centre together just a day before the judgement was announced, one would easily gauge the manner in which these recommendations would be rubbished just like all previous adjudications of the apex court have been. There is no way a criminal would beget a criminal and when bands of criminals are operating together, they would only strengthen the operational mechanism to evade detection. The ailment may have been correctly diagnosed and the medicines prescribed, but who will administer the treatment? Do we expect the government that has been found complicit in the crime, or a police force that stands politicised or a bunch of political parties that have been found patronising militant elements to do as recommended?

We are up against a creek and even the basics have not been sifted to undertake a journey that is long and arduous. The Supreme Court judgement may have shown us the path to ultimate salvation in Karachi and elsewhere in the country, but it has washed its hands off the responsibility of administering the bitter medicine. It may have hinted at the need for banning the MQM and other such outfits, but walks clear of doing so itself and has left it to the Zaradaris, Sharifs, Gillanis, Chaudhrys, Altafs and the ilk to undertake administering the painful procedure that would result in their own demise. That is as grave as any predicament can be.

The system has been politicised to damnation, political parties are found patronising criminal elements, political leaders hold their assets and their allegiances abroad and governance has been abdicated to criminal mafias that are operating with gay abandon in destroying whatever little may have been left of the national fabric and character. There is no hope in hell that, as long as these criminals and their attendant ailments are not eliminated, the country could even begin its long and painful treatment to recovery.