Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
assured all segments of society on Tuesday that peace would be brought back to Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, many were not ready to buy his words as history has made them sceptical. Despite seriousness showed by the federal government, the people in Karachi wonder what lies ahead for them, with threats ranging from militancy to murders and street crimes to kidnapping for ransom tormenting them they face daily.
Experts concur that all the stakeholders responsible for making Karachi a peaceful city have systematically sowed violence in the metropolis over the years.
Take political parties for instance. It is no secret that all of them have Death Eater wings. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement
...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead...
, which claims to enjoy the electoral mandate of the city, has a blood-drenched history and a known violent track record.
The PPP has links with the outlawed Peoples Amn Committee (PAC), accused of running an extortion racket across the city.
Take law enforcement agencies. The police are corrupt and politicised. But paramilitary Rangers are fast learning the ropes from police.
Political observers wonder under what policy Rangers have evicted gangsters belonging to the Awami National Party, particularly after the May 11 elections, in a few city localities like Gulistan-e-Jauhar and replaced them with those of the PAC.
Political observers, rights activists and security experts agree on one point: time is running out. With over 1,890 people having already been killed in targeted attacks in the first eight months of the year across Karachi, they suggest an even-handed action against every individual and group involved in crimes.
Apart from politically motivated killings, deadly attacks carried out for sectarian reasons have seen a surge, with banned outfits such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ...
and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain, as well as Shia groups, undertaking tit-for-tat killings. So there can be no two opinions about the need for ending the spiral of violence in Karachi.
"This time it (the government) looks quite serious," said Zohra Yusuf of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistain. "But it's a little difficult to express hope at this point of time about the outcome of any government action. We monitored such situation in the past and definitely continue it when the government comes up with a plan about Karachi."
She came up with a spontaneous response when asked about the reasons behind Karachi's situation, accusing three major parties -- MQM, PPP and ANP -- of leading the city to anarchy.
Ms Yusuf said she had no doubt about the dismal performance of police and Rangers as corruption had badly affected the performance of the former while the latter never considered themselves accountable for any wrongdoing.
Dr Jafar Ahmad, of the Pakistain Study Centre at the University of Karachi, in his 'objective analysis' found the political parties both victims as well as responsible for the current state of Karachi. But he was not fully satisfied with the federal government's fresh initiative.
"I don't see it very much effective or I am not very much hopeful of a positive outcome," he said, adding: "Karachi has become a national issue but you hardly find the first line of leadership of the parties discussing that crisis. The way it's being handled doesn't give the impression of a national issue and, secondly, political parties are responsible for this state but they never own it. They will definitely make a hue and cry if any action is taken against them."