Sliding law and order

This is but inevitable, with the caretaker government too busy with the tasks of untying the numerous complicated knots prevailing in the political arena, and the responsibility of the home ministry being with an overburdened chief advisor and president, it is not surprising that the administration has been unable to pay any serious attention to this matter.

With the election round the corner the caretaker government must simply meet the challenge head on the deteriorating state of law and order. Reportedly, many known criminals are coming out of hiding. Apart from that there is the matter of illegal weapons that need to be traced and recovered. More and more of small and light weapons, as we see from press reports, are waiting to be pushed in from across the border. These will certainly cause a serious law and order problem during the run up to the election, unless addressed now.

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We feel that the main bottleneck is vesting the portfolio of the home ministry with the president who is already burdened with far too many ministries, to be able to give this matter the attention that it deserves. We, therefore, suggest that the president seriously consider putting the home ministry in charge of an advisor on a full time basis. And if the president should still consider keeping it under his wings, the next best option would be to delegate the authority of conducting the daily operational functions that requires quick decisions to one of his advisors. It will save time and obviate a circuitous decision making process.

Frankly, there is simply no alternative but to get down to the business of tackling the criminals with a strong hand here and now. We want an election free of intimidation, threat and duress.