The Sindh Rangers raided the offices of a businessman associated with PPP co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Friday. The raid seemed to give the impression that a message was being sent to the PPP.
The face that the raid came on the same day that Zardari arrived in the city appeared to denote the fact that the establishment was trying to give a message to the man at the helm of PPP’s affairs. It could be possible that the establishment wanted to tell the PPP leadership that the Karachi operation would continue and law enforcement would go after everyone involved in crime and corruption without any discrimination.
Although a senior spokesman of the Sindh Rangers told media that the raid was not political in nature as it was carried out upon receiving information about weaponry stored at the businessman’s office, the fact that it came on the same day that Zardari arrived is something to ponder on. The raid could mean that the establishment wanted to unsettle Zardari on his return after exile and give him a clear message that no one would be spared when it came to law and order in Karachi.
The Rangers spokesman had explained to media it was not possible for Rangers to organise their operations whilst keeping in mind the connections of the person against whom the operation was being carried out. He added that these raids were common and the Friday raids were no different than others. This spokesman seemed to be implying the fact that the raid was apolitical in nature.
The PPP leader had returned to Karachi after a one and a half year self-imposed exile. Many had linked his flight from the country to the verbal attack on Raheel Sharif in one of his public speeches.
Recently, with the change in the chief of army staff and the appointment of a new director general Rangers, along with the removal of Sindh Inspector General Police AD Khawaja, it might have appeared to the PPP leadership that all was clear for the former president to return to Pakistan. However, through this raid, the establishment apparently sent out a message to the PPP that even though there was a new army chief and DG Rangers at the forefront, the law and order policy would remain the same. This move by the establishment was an explicit indication of the fact that the operation in Karachi would continue and that Zardari was still in the establishment’s crosshairs.
