FORMER Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal is known for his no-holds-barred approach to politics, often tearing into his political foes with a fair degree of ‘frankness’.

Once a rising star in the united MQM, Mr Kamal has launched one verbal attack after another against his former party, particularly his ex-boss Altaf Hussain, after returning to Pakistan and forming the Pak Sarzameen Party in 2016.

Never one to shy away from controversy, Mr Kamal made a strange call while addressing a party event in Karachi last week by asking the army chief to grant a “one-time amnesty” to the youth of Karachi similar to the offers made to “militants in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa/Fata”.

He added that “Mohajir youths” would never go astray should Gen Qamar Bajwa accept this demand.

This is, by all means, a bizarre plea from the PSP chief.

Firstly, it is not clear why he is asking the army chief to issue such a reprieve.

After all, if certain political or ethnic militants in Karachi want to give up the way of the gun and reintegrate into the mainstream, it is the civilian government they should approach.

Secondly, it is not clear which type of militants Mr Kamal is seeking amnesty for.

The PSP chief’s former party, the MQM, has a well-earned reputation for violence; is he issuing an invitation to his ex-party comrades to join the PSP and in the bargain have all their crimes ‘dry-cleaned’? If this is the intention, then it is regrettable considering Mustafa Kamal’s constant claim of aspiring to principled politics.

Ethnic and political militants of all stripes have wreaked havoc in Karachi for decades.

If there is a genuine desire to decommission political parties’ armed wings, then this should be welcomed.

However, selective efforts to mainstream fighters for political reasons through dubious amnesties are an affront to justice.

All parties in Karachi should work towards ending the culture of violence in the city by first getting rid of the black sheep within.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2018