A YEAR and a half since the so-called Karachi operation against militant and criminal elements in the provincial capital was first approved by the federal government, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif once again huddled with the senior-most military commanders in the city on Wednesday.

The outcome: a new, wider and, possibly, even more intense, crackdown on militant and criminal elements is to begin.

To the extent that the political and military leadership has reiterated a collective resolve to go after militant elements, it is surely a welcome sign that the Karachi operation and the National Action Plan are in fact dovetailing.

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Karachi in particular has long been known as a transit spot, a fundraising centre and a sanctuary for militants of every stripe, from the TTP to Al Qaeda and from Lashkar-i-Jhangvi to sundry sectarian outfits. Peace will not come to the city until militants groups and their members are systematically moved against.

More problematic, though, is the other side of this federal government- and military-led push to restore peace in Karachi: the focus on the MQM.

As the dominant actor in the city for several decades, the MQM has clearly played a role, directly and indirectly, in the city’s slide into lawlessness.

Furthermore, to the extent that the MQM — indeed, any political party or state institution — is harbouring and protecting criminal elements, those criminal elements need to be identified and prosecuted, in full view of the public, with due process and with the maximum punishment allowed under the law sought.

Using the cover of a mainstream political party to perpetrate crimes ranging from murder to extortion deserves the strongest possible lawful response that the state can muster.

Whether it is the MQM or any other political party, whether it an institution of the state or a rogue sub-section of it, any time crimes against the public are unearthed, they ought to be fully but fairly prosecuted.

However, there is a growing sense that what is happening in Karachi at the moment is effectively treating the MQM as a whole as a terrorist or militant organisation.

This is truly a dangerous and destabilising precedent, both in terms of principle and practice. For all its sins, and there are many, the MQM is also one of the largest political parties in the country with the genuine and popular support of the voting public.

Treating the party itself as an enemy of the peace — the latest manifestation was the snubbing of the provincial governor, Ishratul Ibad — will only lend credence to the claim that the Karachi operation is essentially political in nature and not fundamentally about law and order.

More practically, many of these tactics have been attempted before — with disastrous consequences for the city and politics in general. Karachi cannot afford for a genuine law-and-order problem to once again become overtly political in nature.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2015

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