THE finding of bullet-ridden bodies of suspected terrorists, allegedly in staged ‘encounters’, is now almost a daily occurrence as Karachi limps towards normality. There has been marked decline in targeted killings and no more do strikes bring the city to a halt.

Yet the suspicion that these gains are being achieved through a rise in extra-judicial executions, allegedly by law enforcement agencies, is disturbing for that would mean one kind of violence being replaced by another form of terror. This can hardly bring long-term peace and stability. The lessons of the past must not be forgotten in the glare of temporary success. The use of state violence as a part of the counterterrorism policy has its own long-term consequences. Have we not been there before?

Karachi has been witnessing another kind of targeted killings since the start of the operation some two years ago to end the cycle of violence in the city. It starts with the ‘disappearance’ of the targeted person and in most cases he never returns alive. The fate of others remains unknown.

Any action by the security forces without due judicial process fuels anarchy.

Some stories are harrowing. Allegedly picked up by the intelligence agencies or the Rangers who now virtually control the mega city, tortured bodies would often be found months later. Meanwhile, their relatives would be wandering from one court to another. A senior police officer boasted to a Reuter’s correspondent that such persons are often handed over to the police to be “dealt with”, a euphemism for extra-judicial executions.

For sure most of the missing people belong to the MQM, which is facing the brunt of the targeted operation under way in the city. The party claims that 40 of its workers have been killed in custody and 90 others are missing. Hashim, an MQM activist, is allegedly the latest victim of what is claimed is this extra-legal campaign. The MQM claims that he was picked up by intelligence agencies some three months ago and his mutilated body was found this week, apparently shot at close range. Many other alleged militants and criminals appear to have been killed in staged encounters. Nothing is known about the crimes for which they were eliminated.

There is no denying that the MQM has been deeply involved in perpetrating violence that has left thousands of people dead, earning the city the reputation of being one of the most dangerous cities in the world. There have also been strong indications of the party’s alleged involvement in the high-profile murders of security officials and political rivals.

An investigation report blamed the party’s leaders for the arson at a garment factory, in which more than 250 workers died, and Saulat Mirza in his death cell claimed that he had received instructions from top MQM leaders to murder Shahid Hamid, a senior government official. Yet those who were named were never brought to justice and convicted for their crimes.

The extra-judicial killing of some individuals will certainly not solve the problem. In fact, it will have the opposite effect of turning them into martyrs and giving party leaders a strong propaganda tool with which to cover their own crimes.

This is not the first time an operation is being carried against the MQM; the memories of 1992 and 1995 are still quite vivid. Scores of MQM activists were eliminated in those two operations. Those actions helped restore some semblance of normality in the city. But not only was the leadership spared, the party was also inducted in the military-led government later, providing it an opportunity to revive the dreaded militant structure. Almost all the police officers involved in the operations were eliminated one by one. Yet no action was taken against the murderers because of political expediency. The party remained in power both at the centre and in Sindh for more than 10 years. Now, history is being repeated, but one is not sure to what end.

One can argue that it is largely the collapse of the country’s legal system that may necessitate the security agencies to resort to such extreme actions in order to restore order. But a major flaw in this argument is that any action by the security forces without due judicial process fuels anarchy and further weakens the enforcement of law.

Extra-judicial punishment is generally related more to authoritarian, politically repressive regimes; we, ironically, have seen it rising under a democratic order. The use by the state of extra-judicial means and brute force further weakens public faith in the rule of law.

That is what we have seen in Balochistan where hundreds of political activists have been killed, allegedly by the security agencies, or have ‘disappeared’ with their fate unknown. That only helps the separatists mobilise more recruits. Though the insurgency in the province seems to be under control, its wounds are hard to heal.

Over the past few weeks there has also been a marked increase in the targeting of sectarian militants. One recent example is the killing of Malik Ishaq — one of the most dreaded militants who was implicated in more than 100 murder cases — and his two sons by the police.

No court could convict him as witness after witness was eliminated. It was a failure of our judicial system that a self-confessed murderer was never punished for the crimes he committed and freely moved around instigating violence.

How to deal with this situation is indeed a serious dilemma for security agencies engaged in battling militancy and terrorism. But there must be no recourse to extra-judicial means; the guns cannot be controlled once given the licence to kill.

A failed criminal justice system is one of the reasons for the situation. That makes it imperative to revamp our judicial system and make it more effective.

The writer is an author and a journalist.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2015

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