KARACHI: Pak Sarzameen Party chairman Mustafa Kamal has said that military operation or the deployment of Rangers in urban areas is not the solution to the country’s law and order problems; rather, devolution of power to the lowest level is the key to eradicating the menace of terrorism.

Speaking at a press conference at the PSP headquarters in PECHS on Saturday, Mr Kamal said the paramilitary force had been deployed initially for a period of six months in Karachi, yet the provincial capital had not witnessed permanent peace for the past 25 years.

“How can peace be restored in Punjab in a mere six months?” he said, referring to the recent government decision to deploy the Rangers in that province after a fresh wave of terrorism hit areas in each of the four provinces, including Lahore.

He said that the Rangers and law-enforcement agencies could not provide drinking water, food, education, health and other basic necessities to the people. “This is the job of the rulers and they should think about their institutions. The army and the Rangers should be the last option,” he added.

The former Karachi mayor said that unsolved social, civic, educational and health-related problems led to the spread of extremism and terrorism. The problems remained unsolved mainly because all powers and resources were limited to the prime minister and chief ministers, he added. “The elimination of terrorism without devolving powers to the union committee level is not possible,” he added.

He reiterated that no military operation could solve the problems the country had been facing due to past mistakes. “We are telling the world that Afghanistan and India are behind terrorism in our country, but we should understand that our own kids are being used in it [terrorist acts],” he said.

“Today a 13-year-old boy is ready to blow himself up in order to kill his Muslim brothers, but the government has no clear strategy to stop him and change this mindset.”

He said that only two of the 20 points of the National Action Plan, which was announced after the December 2014 Army Public School, Peshawar carnage, pertained to the army and the remaining 18 points were related to the federal and provincial governments. “There would have been no terrorism if all points of the NAP were implemented.”

Mr Kamal said that in the present circumstances the PSP supported the military operations, but “no foreign investor will bring his capital here if he watches only the news of the operation in the media”.

He said that using the armed forces of Pakistan for the solution of every domestic problem was not appropriate as such engagements would make their own job difficult.

He appealed to the civil and military leadership to take a united stance and carry out massive reforms for the sake of the country.

The PSP chief also asked the authorities to ensure the devolution of powers to the lowest level instead of levelling allegations against each other.

He also prayed for the success of operation Raddul Fasaad and said that his party stood shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces in the war against terrorism.

PSP leaders Anis Kaimkhani, Raza Haroon, Waseem Aftab and others were also present.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2017