Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilanis remark that it is not the first time the law and order situation in Karachi has deteriorated and that the incidents of violence and killings had also been occurring during earlier regimes, seems to endorse Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharifs succinct, and apt assessment, Nero is fiddling while Rome burns. Mr Gilani was responding to a reporters anxious question at Islamabad on Thursday about the unending bloodshed taking place in Karachi. His comment cannot just be dismissed as a reflection of the governments glum satisfaction at the measures it has taken to control the situation; it is downright callousness to take things so lightly Even as Mr Gilani was talking to journalists, the bloodthirsty gangs had been active and had managed to kill six of our citizens. One feels aghast at learning that there have been cases of slaughtering fellow human beings like sacrificial animals and dumping their mutilated bodies and severed heads in gunny bags, as if a trader is sending his wares to the market for sale. Cruelty when it comes to humans, indeed, knows no bounds The Sindh government, which is mainly responsible for maintaining peace in the province, has demonstrated an equal measure of casualness, evident in its announcement about convening an all-parties conference to debate the disturbed situation and the repeated excuses it put forward to postpone the conference. In evidence also was a slackened approach to the search-and-arrest operation the Rangers had conducted in the past two days, though on paper they were given extraordinary powers to shoot criminals at sight, put an end to 'No-Go Areas, conduct search without warrants, etc. In this chaotic situation, however, it looks quite strange that the post of head of the Rangers lies vacant, letting a Brigadier to manage the show. While not doubting his competence, the inaction in the appointment of a Major-General, who is supposed to be heading the force has been interrupted as a deliberate act with the unedifying intention of letting the calamitous situation prevail. However, COAS General Kayani, reflecting the armys uneasiness at the unrest, rushed to Karachi and received briefing about it from intelligence agencies. There is need to heed the warning of Mian Shahbaz, who has gone to Karachi to judge the situation himself, that internal weaknesses were giving rise to external conspiracies against the countrys nuclear assets. He is, perhaps, the only political leader of his stature who visited to condole with the families of some of those who have been the victims of this bloody mayhem. It is as clear as sunshine that for putting an end to the madness in Karachi, the authorities would have to get serious and carry out operation against culprits without any discrimination whatsoever.