Army adds in confusion : Pak Army Columns

Army adds in confusion : Pak Army Columns


     THE confusion over Karachi appears to be growing by the day. The army has expressed its unhappiness over the ‘surgical operations’ in the city; the prime minister has supported the operations and denounced ‘land grabbers, extortionists and terrorists and Zulfikar Mirza is continuing with his one-man show against the MQM, but with upcoming twists that put a spotlight on the army’s role in Karachi’s affairs. First, the ‘surgical operations’: they will either prove to be meaningless or can be a starting point for Karachiites to rebuild their faith in the law-enforcement agencies and the government. Because the operations began in Lyari, they have earned the wrath of Zulfikar Mirza. This is not necessarily a bad thing, however, as it has also helped the PPP dispel the fear that an anti-MQM drive in the city is being initiated. Given the ethnic and political cauldron that is Karachi, operations by the law-enforcement agencies must not be seen to target only one community or political party. However, much remains to be done before anyone will be convinced that the government is serious about tamping down the violence that has racked Karachi in recent months.
The drivers of the violence in the city are largely political and with the stability of governments at the centre and in Sindh at stake, the PPP-led dispensation has yet to prove its appetite for tackling the politically near-impossible.

Army adds in confusion : Pak Army Columns

The army’s latest verbal foray into the problems of Karachi, however, appears to have added a new twist. By unilaterally speaking publicly on the issue, the army appears to be playing to the gallery, trying shrewdly to rebuild its damaged credibility with the public by positioning itself as the institution that always puts the interests of the people and Pakistan first and tacitly signalling its willingness to defend the public interest (as described by the army itself, though). Yet, nothing is simple when it comes to Karachi, and certainly not the army’s past role in the city. Having gone after the MQM and other armed elements in the city in the mid-1990s, the army used the MQM for political support during the Musharraf era. So it’s hard to say at the moment what exactly the army’s real agenda may be this time.
This much is clear, however: an army operation in Karachi can lead to no more than short-term gains. In the long run, it could be a hammer blow to the prospects of peace in the city and could also damage the democratic project in the country itself.

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