Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif visited Karachi on Wednesday to measure progress in the operation ongoing in the city since September last year, primarily targeting organised crime, terrorism and growing sectarianism in Pakistan’s largest city. At a high-level meeting on Wednesday, the PM was flanked by PPP co-chairperson Asif Zardari as well as COAS General Raheel Sharif and Sindh governor Ishratul Ebad from the MQM, in a rare show of solidarity. Both Mr Zardari and General Sharif said they would fully support continuing the operation as Mr Sharif made the city’s importance to the country clear. Success in the Karachi operation and bringing law and order back to the city should not be politicised, the PM stated.Given Karachi’s importance as a port and financial and industrial hub, his statement could not be truer. Karachi’s economic importance cannot be overstated. The city generates approximately 53 percent of the total collections of the Federal Board of Revenue, out of which 52 percent are customs duties and sales taxes on imports. Karachi produces about 42 percent of value added goods in large-scale manufacturing and over 20 percent of GDP. It is the hub for banking, insurance, large-scale financing and multinationals, quite aside from its manufacturing output. The city is one of the best educated in the country, with a 65.2 percent literacy rate — above the national average of just over 50 percent — many of them qualified and trained professionals from a number of fields. If the PM aims to fix Pakistan’s economy, he cannot do so without fixing Karachi. However, the complex issue of organised crime, political and terrorist violence is not easy to solve. It requires at the very least Karachi’s main political parties, all of whom have armed wings, to stop the turf wars that divide the city virtually into armed camps and make business and daily life almost impossible. Political militias also have links to organised and violent crime; this lies at the heart of Karachi’s problems. Criminals are often connected to political parties and get away with their crimes because of it. Karachi police officials consistently bemoan the fact that their investigations and arrests are set at naught because after apprehending a criminal, they receive a phone call from a political high-up demanding his release. The police themselves have been politicised, with supporters of different parties unwilling to act against fellow party members. This was one of the points noted by the PM and the COAS in their statements recommending that police postings be taken out of the hands of politicians. Taking Karachi’s political parties on board with that objective and creating consensus around the issue is crucial. The police must be equipped with more than just gadgetry and not be used as a political tool.The operation is now entering what officials say is the final phase, which will be led by the intelligence agencies and supported by the police and paramilitary forces. Some problems still lie ahead. The MQM alleges that many of its workers have been rounded up and killed by law enforcement agencies during the operation. Given the history of police enforcement and the Rangers’ engagement in the city, there may be some truth to these allegations. Ishratul Ebad’s presence at the meeting notwithstanding, the party is unlikely to take any further actions against its workers lightly. Even under the recently extended Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (PPO), the guilt of people apprehended or killed requires proof. Punishing overzealous security personnel is the state’s responsibility. The MQM is part of the Sindh government now and the party is notorious for allegations against it of involvement in criminal activities, particularly extortion. It must show its commitment to ditching any such elements within its ranks and purging itself of links to criminals. It must become a responsible party of government, not remain a reactive party of agitation politics. The PPP should reciprocate this commitment by being fair in giving the MQM its due role in governance and policing. These are baby steps on the road to making Karachi safe again, but they must be taken post-haste to pave the way for bigger advances towards peace in the metropolis. *