Karachi the new ‘Wild West’ People of Pakistan gave a mandate to the politicians for good governance and financial discipline, not to allow armed gangs to roam free in Karachi, indulging in target killings, extortion, kidnapping for ransom and other nefarious deeds. Instead of reversing policies of an illegitimate military ruler, those elected have only further added to woes of a population suffering from inflation, unemployment, insecurity and politics of violence. When power is given without any accountability, and those at the helm consider themselves above the law, than chaos follows. In rule of law, no one is above the law and nobody dare flout laws, nor should this be a subject of political negotiations. Karachi suffers because criminals are free to do as they will and because crime pays. There is no fear of accountability, nor do laws apply equally to all. More money is collected through extortion by powerful gangs, than is collected by the FBR in Karachi. For a city that has been notoriously declared as most dangerous city of Asia, it should have raised many eyebrows why public officeholders, were more interested in giving ransom money to pirates of Somalia, while pirates of Karachi hold numerous more innocent citizens to ransom and thousands are brutally killed in this city. Being elected does not give one a carte blanche to do as they will, but instead it imposes a responsibility to enforce rule of law, collect taxes and diligently spend this money on collective public welfare, providing security, infra structure development, imparting education and health. Instead what we see is the reverse of all that should have been delivered by the elected representatives. This is what happens when criminals get political backing.
RASHID ORAKZAI,
USA, November 21.