KARACHI: In what appears to be an attempt to dispel reports of a ‘gulf’ between the military and civilian leadership in Sindh, Corps Commander Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar held separate meetings with the chief minister and the governor of Sindh on Friday and resolved to restore past glory to Karachi.

Until a few weeks ago, the top military brass did not see eye to eye with the province’s political leadership over the issue of the targeted operation in Karachi. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratual Ibad was not invited to the briefing giving to the prime minister on the operation at the PAF Faisal Base on March 25. Similarly, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah — the so-called captain of the Karachi operation — was conspicuous by his absence from the meeting at the headquarters of V Corps where the army chief was briefed on April 29.

Some remarks recently made by the Karachi corps commander at a seminar were widely viewed as direct criticism of — as well as a charge-sheet against — the provincial government. The corps commander was reported to have said in that programme that “the authorities responsible for governance and administration have failed to provide necessary infrastructure and services” to most areas of Karachi.

But the recent arrests of the suspects allegedly involved in the Safoora bus carnage by the Counter Terrorism Department of the Sindh police seem to have given a new lease of life to the beleaguered civilian government since the arrests were viewed all over the country as a major success of the Sindh government.

While the prime minister and the army chief have already praised the Sindh government for its success, in Friday’s meeting Lt-Gen Mukhtar congratulated Chief Minister Shah on the arrest of the militants, including the mastermind, behind the May 13 Safoora bus carnage in which over 45 members of the Ismaili Shia community were killed.

The corps commander called on Mr Shah at Chief Minister House and reviewed the overall law and order situation in the province with a specific reference to the ongoing targeted operation in Karachi and progress in the Safoora bus carnage case.

They decided to “further strengthen” the coordination between the intelligence agencies in the province to achieve the objectives of the operation.

They also reiterated their commitment to purge the metropolis of terrorists and criminals and to restore to Karachi past glory.

Later in the evening, Lt-Gen Mukhtar also called on Governor Ibad at Governor House.

During their meeting they reviewed the pace of implementation of the decisions taken by the apex committee. They also considered different proposals to expedite the pace of implementation of those decisions.

Both Dr Ibad and the corps commander expressed satisfaction over the arrest of the militants responsible for the killing of innocent people in the Safoora bus carnage.

They agreed to continue and expedite the targeted operation in Karachi without any discrimination.

On May 14, the meeting of the Sindh apex committee, held at the Corps V Headquarters with the army chief, Sindh governor and CM in attendance, had decided that appointments and postings of officials in Karachi and rest of the province would be made only on the basis of merit for the sake of long-term stability in government departments. It also decided to block all channels of terrorism funding, establish a surveillance system in Karachi, tighten checks at the entry and exit points of the city and hold weekly apex committee meetings.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2015

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