Law ‘less’

It is open knowledge that many parties are a law unto themselves due to their militant wings, and their own people whether in the police or other institutions within the province have been ensuring the continuous crime spiral the city has witnessed in the last few years

The law of the jungle would begin to appear more appealing compared to what we have witnessed in the last few days. Firstly, Karachi, where stories of hundreds of assassins being ‘overlooked’ by many governments has knocked out all sane justifications and then Lahore where the merciless killings by terrorists in churches, which resulted in an almost civil war-like situation, has made a banana republic more habitable. When does violence result in more violence, anger in more retaliation and crime in more crime? Unfortunately, when respect for law becomes a laughing stock. The scenes we have seen of angry mobs and the desperate police hiding to save themselves are a sorry but very alarming example of a breakdown of all systems and values.

State institutions have the role of providing support for governance to the government and it is through these institutions that the work of the government gets implemented. The main task of any government is to ensure the safety and welfare of the people it serves. In a democratic government the parliamentary members are debating and passing laws with these service elements in mind. Institutions like the police, the judiciary and the like are ensuring the enforcement of these laws for the protection of the people. However, over a period of time, the role of the people employed in these institutions has been confused with regards to the interpretation of titles of being either a public servant or a government servant. When they call themselves government servants they actually obey the people in the government and not the people in general. Thus their actual role of being able to provide various services and delivery pertaining to security, health, education or justice is way down in their list of priorities. Systems may have changed but not the people who run these systems. A majority of the political leadership of the country comes from feudal backgrounds and despite clamouring to be saviours of democracy, their thinking and approach is that when we rule, state institutions and the people working in these institutions have to be aligned with our personal interests or they will find their careers and even lives blocked or made redundant.

Take the city of Karachi and see the dilapidation and deterioration. Being the largest, most populated city with a label of being the commercial hub, it has over the years become the most dangerous, the most uncertain and unsafe city of Pakistan. Mugging is a normal phenomenon and the people of Karachi find it difficult to accept that there are still Karachiites whose phone or wallet has not been snatched. Kidnappings for ransom are talked about less openly but are regular occurrences. Extortion is now considered a survival tax, which if not paid, will result in destruction of property and lives. This governance mayhem has been discussed in the Assemblies and media but unfortunately nothing has been done about it. The present focus on the Rangers operation in Karachi has been hyped up as a very focused goal of getting all criminals apprehended and penalised. Some daring steps and consequent actions and revelations are also being made to support this goal, and one can only hope that these steps continue with the same zeal.

However there are still some major question marks that need to be pointed out if Karachi has to serve as a role model for the restoration of peace in the country. The very fact that the Rangers had to be called in to solve this problem is an admission of governance failure, be it in the city or the province. This operation will dismantle the crime hubs in the city as it also did in 1992. However, the Rangers are not the law enforcement institution that will be used on a permanent basis for keeping the city safe and protected. Ultimately the police have to be responsible and will be and consequently for the police, the provincial government is and will be responsible. If governments have destroyed the police culture by politicising it and thus making the police unable to challenge the militant wings existing in the political parties, how will a Rangers-backed operation do anything more than bring a lull before the storm? The conflict over appointing the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the province amongst the top parties in the province is a classic case of political patronage of criminal outfits in the country. Honest and daring officers in police are either dismissed or transferred or threatened into silence. Thus the first goal for ensuring peace and law enforcement is to ensure the safety and respect of the law enforcers. Secondly, the focus of this operation should not solely be on one party but all parties and all outfits that are engaged directly or indirectly in supporting these activities. MQM is under scrutiny and its workers are being held for various charges but more than these workers, the people who have hired people to execute such crimes need to be brought to the forefront and the people who have hired people to hire people should not be spared just because they are ‘political leaders and political stakeholders’. Thirdly, if the MQM has been allowed to operate despite the intelligence on their activities and law enforcing agencies have been politicised by ruling parties to protect these activities, this makes such parties a party to these trade offs and should be taken to task as well. It is open knowledge that many parties are a law unto themselves due to their militant wings, and their own people whether in the police or other institutions within the province have been ensuring the continuous crime spiral the city has witnessed in the last few years.

What has happened in Karachi needs to be the beginning of the end of the ruination of a city with a potential to beat the likes of Singapore and Bangkok when it comes to its strategic location and a vibrant financial DNA. However, outside ‘forces’ stepping in to do the cleansing is not the solution. For sustainable peace, a complete inside cleansing needs to take place where depoliticisation of the police and other institutions and deweaponisation of the political parties and other outfits is a must for any meaningful change and any reform to take place. A whole new culture for creating respect for law, respect for law makers and a respect for law enforcers needs to be inculcated. But before that happens, the continuous, indiscriminate and relentless pursuit of every big and small individual involved in disrespecting, dismissing and dismantling laws and law enforcing institutions should be brought into the clutches of the law to reverse this circle of lawlessness.