Adil Najam
Karachi is at war with itself. Again.
Karachi bleeds, so does all of Pakistan. And Karachi bleeds too often. In a country that seems to be forever falling apart, the falling apart of this, the greatest of its cities, is both a sign and a foreboding. As painful as the daily killings and mayhem in Karachi is the sense that no one has any interest or any idea about what can or should be done. To be honest, I am not sure what I would do myself.
And so, dear readers, I turn to you: What would YOU do if you were made King of Karachi?
What realistic, practicable, and implementable steps would you do to deal with the perennial bouts of panic and death and destruction that this wondrous metropolis seems to be perpetually caught in? What would YOU do: in the short term? In the medium term? In the long term?
This question hit me hard when this morning I was talking over the phone with a rather influential Pakistan. In desperation I lambasted at how no one was doing anything. In equal desperation, he agreed. But then he asked me what could be done? What would I do? It was an honest question, not a cynical one. He was not making an excuse. He was searching for solutions. As am I. I have thought of this question all day and not come up with much. I do have some ideas. But they are vague and I wonder how practicable and realistic?
Hence, I reach out to you, dear readers. What would you do if you were made king of Karachi for a day?
Someone, desperately needs to come up with an answer. And soon. In the very first weeks of this blogs life (back in 2006) we had carried a post about why nobody in Karachi whistles anymore. We desperately need Karachi’s whistling days back!
True, this is a city that has never really been at rest. We have seen all of this, maybe even more, before. But any city – even one as resilient as Karachi – can only take that much restlessness. At some points its nerves have to give up. Distraught and in disarray, it has to scream out in anguish and hit out at itself. One wonders if we might already be beyond that point.
FOR A DAY only ?? I mean the mess created by the WORST Army Dictators of Pakistan Gen.Zia in his 11 years rule , you want me to CLEAN the whole TRASH of Karachi in a single day ?? dont u remember how the General Made mqm, ppi, ASSP, NFJ, to blast the Cosmopolitan into pieces? give me a break plz. once Charles Napier called Karachi “the Bride of the East ” & our own rulers make it the WIDOW that deprived of everything !
Ok ! let me take your challenge coz as a PURE CIVILIAN for the last 7 generations I have guts NOT TO SURRENDER to the ENEMIES !
1. As a Karachiite , I know that I have to DE-WEAPONISE the city first & that is …across the board after imposing SURPRISE CURFEW.
2. EVERYBODY who is out on the street should Place his or her ID cards on their chest. If NO IDS ..GO TO JAIL !
3. NO BARRIERS for Azizabad , Landhi or Linesarea !
4. Overhauling of Law enforcers ! POLICE & RANGERS appointed in Musharraf era ..should be DISMISSED & arrested for a fair trial as they were the one who started TARGET Killings of 26 Dutiful police Chiefs .
and
5. A STRONG ADMINISTRATOR appointed for KARACHI not a SLEEPING ( beauty ??) like Q.ALI.One of the MOST INEFFICIENT CM of already Deprived Sindh !
All you need to do is to implement the rules and laws already in place. No new laws needed. Illegal weapons are already ILLEGAL! So, avoid the MQM topi drama and just implement the laws that are there. Strictly and fully.
It’s all about ‘Pakistaniat’. Karachi is a melting pot of all parts of Pakistan… it is ‘one’. We are ‘one’. The government, the infrastructure, the people all stand together united. This feeling is the starting point. We have to establish that with real money going to education, medical facilities and security of the people.
Simple…. Rule of law should be implemented without any discrimination. Detoriating condition of Karachi is spearheaded by the likes of land mafia and decedent elements who want to impose their will by force. De-weaponisation Bill should be supported and implemented right away.
Sure, there are no easy answers. But there are a number of things that can be done.
Start by cleaning up on illegal guns. (On this one MQM is right)
Second, strong and immediately punishment for anyone caught with illegal ammunition. (You have to send a clear signal).
Third, strong roundup of known militant elements including from all parties (do this across parties and then no back door releases).
And, NO, no army needed.