KARACHI, June 9: After a short-lived police operation against gangsters from two rival groups in Lyari last month ended abruptly, in a fresh move, the newly-placed political administration is said to be looking towards Balochistan National Party chief Akhtar Mengal to use his influence and connections to bring an end to the ongoing gang warfare and promote peace in the area.
Sources within political circles and senior officials in the police confirmed that the provincial government requested Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to ask the BNP chief to play his role in the peace-making efforts.
“The two leaders are likely to meet in the next few days,” said a source close to the proposals being prepared.
“Though the meeting will mainly discuss the issues relating to Balochistan, there are strong possibilities that the issue of Lyari will come under discussion as desired by both sides,” he said.
However, the source did not sound confident about the outcome of such initiatives and avoided detailing the nationalist leader’s role in convincing the rival groups to surrender.
In what appeared to be a massive crackdown against the armed groups, the city police high-ups last month sent 100 officers and four armoured vehicles into Lyari Town. However, the very next day the force was asked to retreat amid strong protest by the area people, who saw the action as favouring a particular group rather than targeting the gangsters even-handedly to put an end to the violence. Political backing to the rival groups – allegedly involved in the drug trade, kidnapping for ransom and extortion – is also cited behind the retreat.
Now, the fresh strategy adopted by the government to involve political leaders, who have roots in the area and are respected by the community living in Lyari, is seen as a wise step to bring peace to the old city area.
However, such leaders believe their involvement in solving the crisis alone is not enough. They say their efforts can only be part of the solution as other factors too contribute towards it. To achieve the desired objectives, the leaders say, the government needs to adopt a comprehensive strategy.
External factors
“The situation has become so complex that even I will not be able to cool it down alone,” BNP chairman Akhtar Mengal told Dawn. He said: “For three years, I tried my level best to bring the rival groups to the table but it could not prove fruitful because of the involvement of external factors that foiled our efforts.”
When asked to define the ‘external factors,’ Mr Mengal was spontaneous to state that the ‘government agencies’ never wanted peace to prevail in Lyari as they intervened whenever a compact solution was agreed upon by all stakeholders.
“I am not desperate for the government to ask or to request me. I will do whatever I can for my people on my own. I will definitely take up this issue with Mr Zardari when I meet him,” he said, without disclosing when the meeting between the two leaders is scheduled.
Amid political efforts and repeated attempts to maintain peace in Lyari, the police authorities are tight-lipped over the recent crackdown. But some senior officers have said the ‘operation’ was stopped because of a ruling party’s influence and support to one of the two rival gangs, which feared political repercussions.
“We ourselves want a political solution to bring peace to the area,” said a police official. “If the political administration thinks the situation can be controlled in a peaceful manner, we would be the happiest party among all, though currently the police have been waiting for the go-ahead from the administration to launch an operation,” he added.
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