Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who arrived in the city on Thursday, declared that orders had been issued to Rangers and the police to shoot and kill miscreants and claimed that the government had chalked out a new strategy to deal with the terrorists and the Taliban in Karachi.
He also hinted that the Army will be called out if needed, to deal with the elements involved in destroying peace. Rehman Malik also visited the MQM head office, the residence of slain MQM MPA Raza Haider and the ANP leader’s house and offered condolences. Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad accompanied the interior minister.
Talking to the media at the airport here and later after a meeting with the party leaders at the MQM headquarters Nine Zero, Rehman Malik warned terrorists and criminals to desist from making mischief in Karachi or be ready for stern action.
The interior minister said that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will be arriving in Karachi on Friday (today) to hold meetings with all the coalition parties over the unrest in the economic hub. He promised that important decisions would be taken,claiming that the law and order situation in Karachi was stable.
Giving a 48-hour ultimatum to the Taliban, land, drug and arms mafias to stop their activities, Rehman Malik said the government had planned a strategy to deal with them and claimed that people would witness a visible improvement in the situation in the next 24 hours.
Appreciating the patience of the MQM chief Altaf Hussain and his advice to party workers for patience, Rehman Malik said that the PPP and the MQM chief wanted peace in Karachi. He said the federal government was considering a judicial inquiry on the Karachi situation and announced that the son of slain MQM MPA Raza Haider will be given a job in the Fedaeral Investigation Agency (FIA) or the police.
He claimed that Karachi would return to normal in the next 24 hours after a change in the strategy to effectively deal with the terrorists and hired assassins. He said the government had changed its strategy for dealing with the terrorists, criminals and hired assassins in the city and results would be seen soon.
The interior minister admitted the presence of a large number of weapons and ammunition in Karachi. He also declared that there was no political pressure on the government for action but added that those elements involved in terrorist activities in Swat, Malakand and Balochistan were behind the unrest in Karachi as they had planned to destabilise the economic hub of the country.
At Nine Zero, MQM leaders, Anis Qaimkhani, Babar Ghouri, Raza Haroon and Wasay Jalil, briefed Malik about the situation. ANP provincial leaders Shahi Syed, Amin Khattak and other leaders were also present.
