The Vulnerability of Karachi

The wound inflicted on the body politic of Pakistan by the judicial murder of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto has not healed despite the passage of twenty-eight long years. Benazir was a balm for that wound, and her assassination has not only removed the balm but has opened a new wound for which there is no obvious salve.

Her assassination and the “law and order” situation it has created have brought into focus a number of issues that a simple resolution of the constitutional crisis will not overcome. I have pinpointed these issues many times over the last decade, especially in times of crisis, but neither the media nor the establishment or the politicians have taken them seriously. Two of these issues are important. The first deals with the nature of the “law and order” situation and the second with the vulnerability of Karachi. Both are closely interrelated....