The language at least speaks of determination. According to the ISPR, army chief Gen Raheel Sharif has pledged that the Karachi operation will continue against terrorists, criminals and mafias across the board.

That is a good thing. In the nearly two years since the Karachi operation was launched, there have been noticeable results, especially the reduction in serious crime and political violence. It does appear that the federal and military intelligence apparatus have been able to progressively identify and dismantle groups that have long tormented the denizens of Karachi.

Take a look: No let-up in Karachi operation: army chief

To ensure that the anti-Karachi elements do not rebound and try and re-establish their reign of terror, the operation in the provincial capital must continue. There remain, however, complicated and continuing questions of just where criminality ends and politics begins.

It is not yet known if the detention yesterday of a close aide of former president Asif Ali Zardari and a senior figure in the last PPP government Asim Hussain is linked to Gen Sharif’s visit to Karachi a day earlier.

Yet, with the army chief pledging to also break the “evil nexus” between “terrorism, criminal mafias, violence and corruption” it would appear that the military will not avoid upsetting the political leadership in the province.

To be sure, there are some legitimate complaints of the political parties that dominate Sindh. The MQM in particular has faced the brunt of the operation and insofar as various members of the party have been detained without following proper legal procedure and others have died in custody in murky circumstances, the party is justified in demanding that its grievances be addressed.

Putting in place an independent but powerful mechanism that can act as a bridge between the MQM and the security apparatus would be the right step. The MQM is a legitimate political party, but it also has been unusually tolerant of violent elements in its midst over the years.

The PPP too has some legitimate complaints, not least that the federal authorities have usurped provincial powers in conducting raids on provincial offices and confiscating provincial documentation.

Yet, it is to be hoped that following former federal minister Asim Hussain’s detention, the PPP leadership will counsel former president Asif Ali Zardari to not lash out as he did after the military leadership openly began to discuss the problem of political corruption in the province.

Rather than confront the military perhaps what the PPP government in Sindh could do to rehabilitate its image and restore its reputation is to take governance more seriously.

It is troubling that as a near parallel system of administration is taking shape in Sindh, the provincial government remains either somnolent or quite indifferent to its responsibilities to help secure the peace in the province.

When politicians abdicate their responsibilities, other institutions invariably act to fill in the perceived gap.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2015

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