Is the ground prepared for army action in Karachi?

The Pak army, so far, has shown steady progress curbing terrorism in Swat and other regions of FATA where the writ of the government was challenged by the terrorists. Taking advantage of massive floods and seeing that Pak army is overstretching its resources; the terrorists have created a new storm of target killings in Karachi. The city is the hub of economic activities of the country and nerve centre of three major government allies. It is also the primary supply source of NATO forces fighting in Afghanistan. The terrorists have been successful by putting two moderate anti-Taliban coalition partners against each other. While the blame-game is heated up, an uncontrolled killing spree continues on the streets reflecting total failure of the government writ. If the deteriorating situation carries on with this speed and things go out of hand, the public will soon start demanding army action and the army would have no choice but to oblige. What would be the consequences of such action for political stability and democracy in Pakistan is anybody’s guess.

Dr. Ghayur Ayub.