Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant for Karachi Politicians
By Riaz Haq
CA
Former Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza's dramatic press conference with a copy of the Holy Qur’an in his hand has become the center of news media attention in recent days.
Following this highly emotion-charged press conference which was carried live by almost all of the mainstream TV channels, Mirza has been hailed as a hero by some of the most the popular TV talking heads for railing against MQM's top leadership, and for singling out Pakistan Peoples Party leader and Federal Home Minister Rehman Malik for his harshest accusations.
To assess the extent of Mirza's credibility, it is important to understand the following:
1. What triggered the latest of Mirza's outbursts? Was it Malik's decision to send the Rangers in to the Lyari neighborhood of Karachi?
2. When Mirza used a copy of the Holy Qu’ran in the month of Ramadan to convey his sincerity, did he really tell the whole truth? Or did he leave out the ugly truths about the horrific crimes committed by Karachi's armed gangs controlled by him and his ANP political allies?
The answer to both of the above questions can be found in the fact that Mirza's press conference occurred soon after he learned about the Pakistan Rangers' operation to clean out gang-infested Lyari. This operation was authorized by Rehman Malik over the objections of Mirza and without Mirza's knowledge to prevent him tipping off his gangster allies in Lyari.
During the operation, the Rangers discovered chambers that were used to torture and kill people in recent weeks. The mutilated bodies of these torture victims were thrown in various parts of city to create widespread fear. The perpetrators were none other than Mirza's allies who falsely labeled their gangs as "People's Amn (Peace) Committee" or PAC.
The Rangers also arrested 133 suspects and seized automatic weapons and ammunition that were concealed in a ditch inside a house. They also found rockets, grenades, nine sub-machine guns and hundreds of bullet rounds once they dug out the makeshift arsenal, according to the Express Tribune newspaper report.
The torture cells were found in the Nayyabad area of Lyari. One was underground while the other was on the first floor. Both were outfitted with chains, chairs, tape for gagging victims, ropes, and power tools to dismember bodies. Jackets, sacks and documents were strewn on the floor along with the uniform and indicating the identity of the victims as members of the MQM's Khimat-e-Khalq Foundation.
The TV news-anchors, talk-show hosts, and the print media reporters must not give Zulfikar Mirza a free pass when he tells the truth only selectively to hide his own misdeeds and the crimes of his political allies in patronizing criminal gangs. Nor should other politicians be spared the tough questions about their culpability in destroying Karachi's peace, and for seriously undermining Pakistan's economy. Pakistan's media must play their crucial role in exposing the growing nexus between crime and politics in Karachi, and the rest of Pakistan.
We must not forget that sunlight is the best disinfectant.
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