What COAS Meant by 'Entering Into Most Difficult Phase of Operation'?

By Shahzad Masood Roomi

While speaking to the APEX committee KPK meeting in Peshawar, COAS has said that state is entering in the most difficult and dangerous phase of operation. He also said that return of Temporary Displaced People (TDPs) is top priority for Pakistan Army.

One may wonder what does "entering most difficult phase of operation" it actually mean.

The answer is simple. COAS has stated the obvious. Sanctuaries of terrorists in FATA have been practically eliminated and what now has been left of TTP is mainly consists of sleeper cells which work in coordination with group's top command hiding in Afghanistan. Tracking these sleeper cells in urban centers, eliminating the TTP's top brass is critical for the final success against TTP. 

Failure is Not an Option: Corps Commander Karachi

Karachi Corps Commander Lt. General Naveed Mukhtar, yesterday while addressing to a seminar organized by NDU Islamabad Karachi chapter, has declared the parallel power centers in the city as stumbling blocks for law and order. He stressed on the need of operational and professional independence of local administration, particularly, Karachi police in order to achieve the peace and stability in the restive mega city. 

Reiterating the decision given by Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2011, about law and order in Karachi, he said that militant wings and criminal elements must be removed from the ranks of political and religious parties.  He expressed the need of having single power center in the city and province.

Dismissing the impression of selective operation against particular political party, he said that the operation in the city is completely apolitical and indiscriminate. He made it clear that target killers, terrorists, kidnappers and criminals of all color and creed would be targeted in the operation.

He also said that several myths of the invincibility of crime has been broken and criminals are challenged with enormous effort by law enforcement agencies. While stating these efforts, he also expressed the challenging aspects and complex dynamics of Karachi violence. He said that situation in the city is compounded due to presence of every kind of criminal elements ranging from Al-Qaeda to drug dealers. Here he also pointed towards the ineffective governance and administration in the city as additional challenges for security forces. Due to these circumstances, security forces had to adopt unusual strategies and the sacrifices of public and security forces personnel would not go in vain.  

He said due to efforts of security forces, now criminals outfits and gangs have been divided into many splinters which are operating from the suburbs of the city due to which the operational difficulties have increased in the operation. 

During his speech he also mentioned many kind of mafias which have emerged in the city due to lack of governance and corruption in administration. He also touched upon the tragic incident of Safoora Chowrangi during his speech. "Only words cannot heal the wounds and grief of those who lost their loved ones.", he said. 

He said Karachi is being targeted to disrupt Pakistan's international trade and economic engine as the city accounts for 65% revenue generation in the country.

He maid it clear that the targeted operation would continue till the end of criminal elements in the city.

Rangers' Raid on Nine Zero

Sindh Rangers, on what is being claimed to be an anonymous tip, today raided on MQM's headquarters in Karachi and recovered large amount of illegal weapons and apprehended wanted criminal convicted by court. Today's raid of Sindh Rangers on MQM's head office at Nine Zero (90)has raised new questions about the political participation and ownership of National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism.

MQM is a mainstream party in Karachi but has a history of criminal elements being its members and workers. These elements have been involved in ransom, target killing, extortion etc. But MQM is not the only party in the city with an armed gang. Supreme Court of Pakistan has maintained in its observation that every political party in the city has its own armed gangs in the city and peace would remains an elusive dream until these gangs are dealt with according to law.

In the backdrop of today's raid, it would be prudent to ask few questions about the effectiveness of Pakistan's existing laws to keep political criminals in check. Prime Minister is going to Karachi today to initiate some mega projects there but it's obvious that now he will be sitting with Chief Minister Sindh and MQM leadership most the time to somehow politically subdue the political impact of Rangers' raid and there is a fear that despite the recovery of such lethal weapon. But would PM be able to keep himself isolate and let the Rangers and police prepare the case who apprehended in this raid in court of law? Would MQM initiate an in house inquiry about the criminal elements within its midst or would go for more agitation based politics? and most critically important, would court of law be able to give a verdict independently with deteriorating law and order in the city?

Regardless of these questions, today's incident has made it clear that Pakistan is not faced with religiously motivated terrorism alone. Elements within the secular minded sub-nationalist parties are also at war with the state. Recovery of NATO's military grade weapons are once again raising the strong suspicions about MQM's Babur Ghuri (former minister of ports and shipping) and his role in smuggling of missing NATO containers. These suspicions are growing stronger with such revealation unless MQM came up with a clear justification of presence of such weapons at its headquarters!