KARACHI: Karachi Corps Commander Lt General Naveed Mukhtar has said that the rule of law should be established as part of the practical steps being taken against criminals, and for that purpose the administration and police have to act independently.
He was addressing a seminar held here on peace, security, and governance organised by the Sindh chapter of the Alumni Association of the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad.
The corps commander said that all the political and religious parties should remove militant wings and criminal elements from their ranks. He said that it was necessary to root out all parallel administrations and power centres.
He said that the operation in the port city is apolitical, across the board and indiscriminate and is aimed at terrorists, extortionists, target killers, kidnappers and other criminals. There is no option for failure, he said.
He said that several myths of the invincibility of crime had been broken and all criminals and the networks of their facilitators were being challenged with enormous effort.
The corps commander said that the city had been infested with a range of criminal elements from al-Qaeda to drug peddlers. Moreover, the inefficiencies on the administrative and political fronts had also added to the problems of the city. He said, however, that there would be no compromise on the restoration of peace in the city. He said that there had been serious challenges in the fight against criminals for which unusual strategies and steps had to be adopted. Politics should be cleansed of terrorism and the media ought to be independent of fear. The corps commander said that the sacrifices rendered by the public and security forces would not be in vain. He said that it was the obligation of the security forces to eliminate terrorists and their facilitators and for this cause, those providing financial and logistic support to terrorists would be eradicated.
Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar said that all the political and religious parties should remove the militant wings and criminal elements from their ranks. It was necessary to root out parallel administrations and centres of power.
He said that a battle had been on against terrorists, target killers, extortionists, kidnappers and other criminal elements and all the stakeholders concerned should provide support in the fight against militants and criminal elements. The rule of law should be established and practical steps should be taken against criminals and for that purpose, the administration and police has to act independently.
The commander Corps-V said that Karachi had been rightly termed mini-Pakistan and this was a mega city which had long played an important role in the economy of the country. He said that the port was situated in Karachi so a majority of the national trade was carried out through the city.
He said unfortunately criminal mafias had based their activities in the suburban areas of the city while the land and water tankers’ mafia had been operating in the city.
He said that Karachi accounted for around 65 percent of the revenue earnings of the country while the ports of the city hosted around 80 percent of the total trade volume of the country. He said that terrorists disturbing the peace of the city were in fact targeting the commercial and trade activities of the country. He said that efforts were being made to undo the complex grip of terrorists over the affairs of the city and to achieve this an unusual strategy had to be adopted.
He said that no one could defeat a nation with people ready to render the sacrifice of their life for the country.
He said that thousands of lives had been sacrificed in the ongoing war against terrorism, including those of civilians and army personnel and these precious sacrifices of the nation would not be squandered. He said that the fight would remain against criminal elements and their facilitators would continue.
He said that the targeted operation in Karachi against criminals would continue till its logical conclusion as the operation was being conducted in the best interest of the nation. Terrorists had been after the peace of the city so the fight was on to pursue and catch terrorists, criminals, kidnappers, and extortionists.
The general said that on March, 19, 2015, Rangers personnel had been targeted in the city, which was a tragic act and when he met the bereaved members of the family of the martyred Ranger official, his resolve was reaffirmed and strengthened in the fight against terrorists and their facilitators.
Regarding the May 13 Safoora Goth bus firing tragedy, the corps commander said that only words could not help heal the sheer grief and loss of the bereaved families of this act of terrorism.
He said that action was being taken on an indiscriminate basis against elements associated with al-Qaeda, the Lyari gang war, and other criminal elements. He said a peaceful environment would be ensured to the people of the city without wasting any time. He said that no one could defeat a nation with high aspirations.
He said that merit had to be ensured in new recruitments in the law-enforcement agencies and for that purpose the police had to be depoliticised.
The general said that the security forces had the resolve to eliminate terrorism and restore peace. He said that peoples’ confidence had been restored due to the ongoing targeted operation being conducted against criminals while the situation had been improving in the city. He said that there had been a marked decrease in instances of target killings, kidnappings for ransom and extortion and there would be no compromise on the peace of the city. He said that all complicated and vital affairs related to the peace of the city would be resolved. He said that the targeted operation would continue till the restoration of peace in the city.
Also addressing the moot, leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Sherry Rehman said that Pakistan had to pay a heavy price for extending its cooperation to the United States. She said that the growing population had been a major problem for the city. She said that Karachi is the economic hub of the country so the planning of the city should be undertaken with due care. She said that all the concerned institutions and the public should extend their support to the government for the creation of a good society. The PPP leader lamented that some 50 percent of the population of the city lived in slums.
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