Bringing Peace to Karachi: Please, Just Shut Up

I swear, my ears will start bleeding if I hear any of this one more time:

No one will be 'allowed' to disrupt peace in Karachi.
'Writ' of government to be enforced.
'Special inquiry team' formed to investigate Karachi violence.
'Special strategy' formulated to deal with Karachi violence.
CM takes notice of Karachi violence.
PM takes notice of Karachi violence.
President takes notice of Karachi violence.
MQM blames ANP for Karachi violence.
ANP blames MQM for Karachi violence.
'Land Mafia' involved in Karachi violence.
'Taliban' involved in Karachi violence.
'Sinister hand' involved in Karachi violence.
'Foreign hand' involved in Karachi violence.

Just google 'Karachi violence' and you will find all of the above in news items spanning over the last 5 years (and more)! And all that our politicians are interested in is giving completely useless statements.
Meanwhile, Karachi continues to bleed.

Here is just one year of statements, Jan 2011 all the way back to Jan 2010.

Jan 17, 2011: PML(N) Chief Nawaz Sharif: "No one will be allowed to disrupt peace in Karachi."

Jan 15, 2011: Interior Minister Rehman Malik: "The government will not allow anyone to destroy the city’s peace and motives behind these killings were being evaluated."

Dec 14, 2010: Sindh Home Minister Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza: "Target killers belong to the biggest party of Karachi."

Oct 22, 2010: Rehman Malik: "The government will recruit 3,000 extra police...action will be taken against anyone who dares challenge the writ of the state."

Sep 28, 2010: The Awami National Party (ANP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) exchanged allegations over unrest in Karachi in the Senate on Friday and held each other responsible for the ongoing target killings.

Aug 10, 2010: PM Gilani: "A "multi-pronged strategy" has been evolved with the help of the three political parties of the coaling ruling Sindh to restore peace and order to Karachi"

June 14, 2010: Rehman Malik: "The government is 'very close' to finding out who is working against the law and order situation in Karachi. Peace will be established in Karachi at all costs and no group or faction will be allowed to create any kind of violence and those who do work against the law will face strict action."

May 20, 2010: Rehman Malik: "No one would be allowed to break the law in Karachi and violators would be dealt with iron hand."

Jan 14, 2010: President Asif Ali Zardari: "Karachi will be turned once again into a land of peace..I urge all political forces to join hands to restore the city’s peace."

Politicians, give us a break. Either you have zero intelligence or zero guts.

Karachi Burns Again

Here we go again. Just when Karachi seemed to have recovered from the post Dec27 mayhem and its citizens beginning to look a little optimistic for peace after Zardari’s historic reconciliatory visit to Nine-Zero, violence has erupted again. So far 50 cars have been burnt, 7 people have lost their lives, scores of people are wounded and 5 burnt alive in acts of arson and sabotage across the city in a matter of hours.

It all supposedly started when a few MQM lawyers who were protesting the Niazi manhandling were allegedly attacked by other lawyers, resulting in a huge scuffle and consequent widespread protest, rioting and violence across the city.

It is interesting to note that Arbab Rahim has given a press conference in which he is accusing the PPP to be responsible for the rioting and violence in Karachi ‘considering the PPP is in power’. If being in power is the criteria for responsibility then by that token is Arbab admitting to his own government’s hand in the May12 violence in Karachi??

There are many theories being put forward by conspiracy lovers. Some say that power-sharing talks with the MQM have broken down which is why the party is resorting to showing its might and threatening street-power in Karachi. Others say it is an attempt by the Commando to malign and jeopardize the lawyers’ movement as a warning against restoring the judges. Yet others imply that this is the Commando’s attempt to head the country towards another Martial Law.

Whatever it may be, it is Karachiites who suffer – yet again.