Sir: Vows are an integral part of the daily routine of our mindless rulers. These vows are like standard operating procedures. Every morning, after having consumed a loaded breakfast at the taxpayers’ expense, the prime minister and chief ministers vow, almost like a tic or convulsion, to achieve some elusive objective of which they have little clue. This could include a wide range of falsehoods that begin with “vows to” and end with “provide electricity”, “eliminate militancy”, “put an end to”, “give exemplary punishments”, “deliver justice” and, more recently, “defend the territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia”.It was therefore a bit surprising that the otherwise quiet army chief chose to break his silence when he ‘vowed’ to crush all mafias in Karachi and elsewhere. One assumes he means business. One also hopes that no one more than the army chief understands the difference in strategies needed to eliminate urban militants. As someone who has closely watched how the rest of the world managed to get rid of urban crime, extortion, killings and mafias, I can say that the steps being currently pursued have little chance of realising the latest series of vows. There is just one recipe to eliminate militant mafias and that is to deprive them of their primary instruments of violence. No citizen, regardless of his rank or status, must be allowed to possess, carry or display any weapon of any bore, licensed or otherwise. Import, sales and possession of all kinds of weapons must be banned. Citizens must be asked to surrender every type of weapon and be compensated for them. Regretfully, all mafias enjoy political protection while our ‘peaceful’ parliament is itself a mini-army, holding 69,473 prohibited bore weapons. Thus, the greatest resistance to any deweaponisation programme will come from our very own National Rifle Association, which also doubles as parliament. Committed and complete deweaponisation is mandatory for eliminating the numerous mafias and militias. Any other approach will be superficial and counterproductive. NAEEM SADIQVia Email