Streets of Fire
Where there is smoke there is bound to be a fire and since Third World-ers are great conspiracy theorists, they tend to believe that smoke is meant only as a camouflage for the perpetrators of the fire. In Karachi this fire is burning fiercely in the streets. For those who have lived in hope that somehow they will be passed by there is bad news, the spreading conflagration is cutting a wide swath across class and creed, sect and ethnicity, etc. There is no convenient fire-escape from this developing inferno, by their benign inaction the Federal Government is seen to be a part of the problem rather than a “fire brigade” dedicated to the rescue of the city’s hapless inhabitants.
Instead of addressing the core issues that have brought Karachi to the verge of absolute anarchy, Ms Benazir seems to skirt the major problems. The general public perception is that there are no solutions on offer because the logical ones tend to threaten PPP’s electoral power base in Sindh. When faced with such Hobson’s choice, Government of Pakistan (GoP) invariably tends to take the easy route of rhetoric, contributing to the PM’s rapidly declining credibility. Hard to believe that this is the same South-Asian vintage Joan of Arc of the 80s decade, holding forth the torch of democracy for the people of Pakistan. Regretfully, the PM is giving the word “obfuscation” due legitimacy much beyond what is generally attributed to bureaucracy.
An Economic Plan for Sindh
The growing polarisation between the populations of the major urban centres in Sindh compounded by the deteriorating law and order situation calls for drastic changes in conceptual planning for economic emancipation. This is the PM’s main electoral base, escalation in the level of violence will not be conducive to either economic progress or democratic rule. She has to take firm steps to contain the law and order situation from becoming worse, the government must look at economic means for long-term solutions for the Province as a whole.