Preventing slide into anarchy

Once known as the ‘City of Lights’ for its vibrant night life, a good part of Karachi lives in almost darkness, devoid of continuous power. This mega city’s momentum has led the nascent nation’s economy as the financial and commercial hub of Pakistan, Karachi accounting for a lion’s share of Pakistan’s revenue (some claim 65% to 70%).

Not too long ago, Karachi was held hostage to all manner of criminality of the murderous kind. Militants unleashed by political parties blatantly ran riot in both urban and rural areas, indulging in outright crime, killings, extortion, kidnapping for ransom, etc. All the three political parties PPP, MQM and ANP running the ruling coalition in Sindh were part of this version of “good governance”. Karachi would come to a virtual halt on the whims of Altaf Hussain, with MQM militants running amok, threatening the citizens openly, ambushing police patrols, using rocket launchers on government offices and police stations and fighting pitched battles with paramilitary forces in the streets. Even though MQM was somewhat kept in leash, courtesy bags of money delivered to Altaf Hussain in London to feed his coffers, for decades Karachi was in a state of internal siege.

Major-General Ijaz Chaudhry, the then DG Rangers Sindh, really deserves the credit for initiating the enhanced gathering of real-time intelligence while re-organizing the Rangers to carry out targeted operations, and then starting it in 2012. The situation started to show moves towards normalcy. With Ijaz promoted as Corps Commander Karachi, he kept the momentum going; Rizwan Akhtar just got the credit. There was a brief period of about 8-10 months of “no action” when Ijaz’s undeserving successor had personal “priorities” before retiring in 8-9 months, countering terrorism was not anywhere one of them. This individual’s successor as Corps Commander, Lieutenant-General Naveed Mukhtar, not only restored the process but through the DG Rangers Major-General (now Lieutenant-General) Bilal Akbar he substantially increased the momentum.

Matters came to a head on Aug 22, 2016 when MQM chief Altaf Husain’s vitriolic speech calling Pakistan “a cancer for the entire world” instigated a game plan to defame the Rangers and by default the Army. Armed to the teeth, MQM activists took up ambush positions in and around Zainab Market, a heavily congested area, within minutes of Altaf’s speech hidden in nearby buildings, including banks because of bank officers affiliated with MQM’s Labour Wing. This was not a spontaneous reaction but method in Altaf Hussain’s plan. Had the Rangers not been delayed reaching Zainab Market because of traffic, hundreds of innocent civilians would have been deliberately murdered and blame would have been put on the Rangers, and by extension the Army. Playing the politics of dead bodies whether they were his followers or others was immaterial to Altaf Hussain as long as they fulfilled his nefarious designs.

Taking permission from the CoAS, General Raheel Sharif, the day after Aug 22, 2016, Naveed Mukhtar ordered the demolishing of all MQM unit/sector offices in Karachi with the tacit political and administrative support of the Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. The real irony is that many of the area’s residents, ostensibly MQM supporters, looted the premises before the offices were bulldozed. Coupled with the physical demolition of the offices, the psychological effect put paid to the MQM’s vaunted capacity to mobilize power over Karachi at will.

Because of Naveed Mukhtar’s decisive action, the MQM’s ceased to be the force it once was. Breaking up into factions each has been trying to re-enter politics and regain some significance, engaged in a strategy to remain politically alive. MQM Pakistan is desperately trying to woo the federal government into reopening the sealed or demolished MQM offices, potentially subjecting the city to a one-way descent into chaos again. Naveed Mukhtar has carried this capacity for faceless ruthless purpose and efficiency into his post as DG ISI. Carrying out Qamar Bajwa’s decisive instructions, he eased the crisis at Faizabad without carrying out bloodshed to thwart the game plan of our enemies and their agents desperately wanting to provoke a civil war.

Former Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) now K-Electric, indirectly contributed to MQM’s agenda of violence, it being MQM’s cash cow. MD KESC Shahid Hamid was assassinated in April 2005 because he was undertaking action against a ‘corrupt MQM mafia in his organization’. Many MQM favourites or those related to MQM leaders, all undeserving, were appointed in KE on huge salaries, while in fact working for MQM, this further bolstered the Sector units. MQM’s vice-like hold over KESC was first questioned in 2009 when Abraaj Capital acquired a controlling stake in KE, subsequently renamed K-Electric (KE).

The injection of US$ 361 million of equity into the company by Abraaj resulted in marked improvement in KE’s performance, ultimately benefiting the consumers. The Chinese State-owned Shanghai Electric Power Company Limited (SEPCL) is now keen on purchasing KE, the deal is estimated at US$1.77 billion. Augmenting confidence in the economic indicators, SEPCL will invest US$9.5 billion towards upgrading/development of infrastructure, particularly the transmission and distribution system.

Because of an explosive mix created by ethno-political and sectarian interests, influx of terrorists, illegal weapons, drugs, etc, combined with lack of good governance, Karachi could easily cross the fail-safe line into chaos and anarchy if there is load-shedding again of the scale before Abraaj took over. Without the Chinese investment to increase the KE capacity, to end load-shedding and power outages and with its citizens thirsty and without power (no pun intended), this could lead us to power and water riots (water-pumping machines becoming inoperable). The MQM Pakistan demand for re-opening their offices and attempting to stop injection of the Chinese investment in KE is a part of the sustained hybrid warfare by India’s RAW against Pakistan. The consequences of a descent into total anarchy can only be imagined. Karachi’s future would then be quite dark.