Pakistan: “Dynamic” Officer Killed, Taliban Claim Responsibility, Citizens Continue to Suffer, Nothing Changes

Muhammad Aslam Khan, also known as Chaudhry Aslam, the Superintendent Police (SP) of Karachi Police’s Central Investigation Department (CID) was killed on January 9, 2014 in Karachi, Pakistan.

While it’s unclear whether he was assassinated by a suicide bomber or a planted bomb, the attack killed two other officers, injured multiple others and caused major damage to the surrounding property.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Mohamand Agency claimed responsibility for the attack stating Mr. Aslam was targeted for wounding, torturing and Taliban members. One would find it difficult to argue with this statement because the late officer had been engaged in increasingly violent operations against multiple Taliban and criminal groups.

His reputation and notoriety were based on surviving multiple previous attacks and brutal methods. In order words, Mr. Aslam used the nation’s law as a suggestion rather than a requirement, which, may have been necessary when dealing with Karachi’s criminal groups.

However, these actions also raise questions about how much a nation should mourn the death of a man whose actions likely encouraged the development of as many “terrorists” as he killed.

Pakistan’s politicians, however, showed no such qualms or concerns. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called him a brave officer and promised to note waste his sacrifice – whatever that means.

The Patron-in-Chief, a title Mugabe wishes he had thought of first, of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), reflecting his age and immaturity, took to his Twitter account to express his condolences in a tweet: “Shaheed Chaudary Aslam had been threatened & attacked B4. He didn’t back down. He died a brave man. Shame on cowards.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world (London), the leader of Karachi’s biggest terrorist party, the Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain demanded the arrest of those behind the attack while noting such terrorist activity in Karachi was a great cause of concern, not to him personally, since he hasn’t been to the city in decades, but to his party’s revenue generation since it wants to be the sole source of illegal revenue in the city.

In the meantime, Karachi Police continue their operation to clear the city of militants and hardcore criminals. While residents have suffered from conflicts between the various groups that compose Karachi’s populace throughout its history, the growing militancy within the city’s Pashtun populace – driven by the military’s actions in the country’s northern areas – has exacerbated these conflicts as the Pashtuns are now openly challenging the MQM’s dominance of the southern port city.

The ongoing police operation is ostensibly designed to fix this conflict, corruption and other crimes. Ironically, the biggest impact of Mr. Aslam’s murder may be that the police could begin colluding – once again – with the very criminals they are targeting in order to catch the militants they deem responsible for their leader’s death.

This means that in the immediate future, Karachi will turn into an even more violent city, continuing the suffering of its citizens and changing nothing for it or the country.