Difficult tasks ahead

The newly elected Karachi Metropolitan Corporation city council met for the first time since its election a few weeks ago, with its mayor, Waseem Akhtar of the MQM, who is under arrest, missing from the session. The local government system has been restored only recently on court orders, and against resistance presented by provincial governments after it was pushed aside in 2010. The KMC council has a particularly difficult task ahead of it. In the first place, the MQM, which forms the majority within the council, has been badly jolted by recent developments. The real test for the council lies not only in working without an active mayor but also in tackling the gargantuan problems of Karachi.

We all know this can only happen if the political divide in the city is settled to a point where it does not disturb administrative working or the lives of citizens. The parties represented in the council, including the PPP, ANP and JI have said they will work together for this purpose. We can only hope this turns out to be an accurate reflection of actions ahead. What is crucial is that the ordinary law-enforcement forces in the city be empowered and freed of corruption, so that police and the judicial system can act as the main forces tackling terror and crime in the city. The role of the Rangers in this has complicated matters in many ways. The new council must then work towards this and also to tackle the host of other problems including land grabbing and the work of other mafias which has turned the city into a zone of violent crime. These are indeed enormous challenges. The many committees, set up to deal with issues which include property matters and extortion, will first of all need to carefully do their homework and then devise a plan to bring together a city that has been torn apart and left essentially to bleed as its structures grow weaker by the day.

Nisar Abbasi

Karachi