The Karachi inferno; worse in Baluchistan

The utter mess in Pakistan, exemplified for the time being by the raging violence in that country’s commercial hub, Karachi, is at root the result of the endless squabbling amongst its venal political class. The abysmal cycle — of a feudal/political elite bitterly fighting for spoils, which further fans entrenched ethnic tensions , raging fundamentalisms amidst deep socio-economic inequalities, and the army either controlling things directly or from the back-seat — has become such an intricate, involved loop that one no longer knows which particular ill sparks a period of instability and violence.

On the surface, the tragic, and intense, violence in Karachi, which has claimed hundreds of lives in weeks, has to do with the MQM leaving the PPP-led government . Though talks are on about a patch-up , what makes for an explosive situation is that Karachi is also witnessing an ethnic turf-war over lucrative businesses, like the transport business now taken over by Pashtuns, between Mohajirs and the former.

Mix in other sectarianisms and plain gang-wars , and the situation seems uncontrollable. Already, calls have emanated to let loose the army, still seen as the only working institution, to stem the violence. Which only affirms the debilitating role the army has played vis-a-vis the larger issue of democracy and civilian control in the troubled country. Meanwhile, the situation in Baluchistan is steadily worsening, with assassinations and abductions a common occurrence.

And the Taliban are also continuing with their attacks against civilian and military targets. A long-term solution to this relentless collapse of the state would be sweeping reform of Pakistan’s politics. Measures like a de-radicalisation plan, mulled over by the government at a high-level meeting last week, cannot work given that extremism got a fillip from both the state funding it and extremists walking in where the state retreated — madrasas proliferate, for example, because the poor willingly send their children in. To mend Pakistan, it is not enough for the establishment to abandon support for extremism. A huge political churn is needed.