KARACHI: In an interaction with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday, traders and industrialists expressed dissatisfaction over the ‘Karachi operation’ and demanded that the army be called in to ensure a sustainable peace in the metropolis.

The request was turned down by the political leadership.

The prime minister’s meeting with the traders was part of his day-long engagement at Governor House where he was earlier briefed about Sindh’s security situation by Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and the law-enforcement agencies.

The traders’ delegation, headed by Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president Abdullah Zaki, in the meeting insisted on deployment of the army in Karachi as they believed the Rangers-led ‘targeted operation’ had failed to yield desired results.

“We strongly believe that the operation in Karachi has not been able to meet success due to consistent political interferences and compromises,” Mr Zaki told reporters outside Governor House after the meeting.

He said: “The traders desperately want the army to be deployed in Karachi and an operation carried out under army command. This demand was put before the prime minister and to corroborate our concern we also briefed him about the vulnerable security situation industrialists are facing. There is hardly any change in crime trend which includes extortion, kidnapping for ransom and killings.”

He said a letter was given to the prime minister along with the copy of a resolution, duly signed by six industrial associations, demanding the army’s deployment and closure of all prepaid cellphone connections with a view to effectively dealing with a poor law and order situation.

Sources aware of the traders’ meeting with the prime minister said the demand for army deployment was strongly opposed and ruled out by the prime minister and his team who insisted on the role of civilian security forces. “If there is any constraint in achieving the desired results through our law enforcement agencies, it should be removed instead making demands for army. The traders and industrialists have been asked to suggest measures or identify anomaly with assurance from the prime minister that it would be addressed,” said a source privy to the discussion.

The traders, however, made a point when they referred to inconsistency in police performance due to frequent reshuffle in the institution’s leadership. There was a consensus among traders when it came to the removal of former city police chief Shahid Hayat Khan and they called it a major blow to the Karachi operation,” added the source.

The KCCI president said: “During our frequent meetings with chiefs of the law-enforcement agencies, we were briefed that over 70 per cent crimes of all kind are executed through cellphones with prepaid SIMs. We suggested to the prime minister that the only solution is to shutdown all the prepaid SIMs in one go and get them reissued to their postal addresses through courier service as per CNIC already provided.”

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2014