ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan met with the prime minister on Monday and submitted a report detailing the law and order situation in Karachi, two days prior to a special cabinet meeting to be held on September 4.
Several matters regarding a strategy to restore peace in the port city were discussed during the meeting. According to sources, it was decided that the responsibility of a targeted operation against miscreants would be handed over to the Sindh government.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that the federal government would provide all necessary support to the provincial government of Sindh in order to effectively combat the violence in Karachi.
During an earlier statement, the interior minister had recommended a committee comprising of political and business leaders to oversee the operation to ensure its transparency. Sources said the premier also requested Nisar to submit a list of names of all the members of the committee.
So far, the final names of the committee members have not been revealed.
The special cabinet session was earlier scheduled to be held on Tuesday but has been postponed by one day.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq termed the next couple of days to be “amongst the most important in Karachi’s history”.
“The government, opposition and all other parties are coming together in the quest for peace,” he said.
The meeting, aimed at finding a solution to the deteriorating situation in the provincial capital, will be attended by the chief secretary, provincial chiefs of security as well as the directors general of Rangers, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB).
The parliamentary leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in the National Assembly, Dr. Farooq Sattar, has also accepted an invitation to the special cabinet meeting.
He intends to support his party’s appeal for army’s deployment in Karachi for surgical operations in metropolis.
The Pakistan People’s Party led Sindh government has requested Islamabad to permit Information Minister, Sharjeel Inam Memon, to accompany Sindh Chief Minister to the meeting.
Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid had told reporters earlier on Sunday that the federal government would take all political parties on board over the peace strategy for Karachi.
However, at least two parties complained of not being invited to the meeting.
A spokesman for the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) said, “perhaps only those parties have been invited who are responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi.”
Senior ANP Leader, Bashir Jan, had something similar to say regarding the meeting scheduled for Wednesday. He said that the ANP, which has apparently also not been invited to the session, were doubtful of the government’s seriousness about bringing normality to Karachi, due to its “selective” approach.
