No rest for wicked in lawless Karachi

"Any members of the police force who are found to have been collaborating with the gangs, or who are in the pay of criminal elements, will be rooted out," a spokesman for Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan said.

The spokesman claimed that a "hit list of 400 notoriously bad eggs" had been drawn up and that the Rangers, in cooperation with the police, would be moving to apprehend them. However, one of the country's leading newspapers, The Nation editorialised that it was all too little too late.

"These well-known troublemakers would have been apprehended long ago, had local politicians not thrown a spanner in the works," the newspaper said, in a clear reference to corruption in the city and provincial governments.

The editorial alleged that those on the hit list would be given plenty of time to go into hiding or leave the country. "This does not mean that the operation will have no effect at all; routine security in Karachi may improve, but only temporarily," the newspaper said.

The moves were met with derision on the street. "They are going to form committees and talk about it, but there won't be any action," one shopkeeper said.

"As for police corruption, they will sack a few and those that replace them will soon be picking up their payment from the gangs."

Will the extra powers given to the paramilitary Rangers make any difference? The shopkeeper sighed. "It is not like this is anything new. The Rangers have been around for years. They are subject to the same temptations as the police, or anyone else who gets in the way of the gangs.

"They have extra powers now, but will they use them? Or perhaps the better question would be will they use them against the people who matter? I am not an optimist in this."

There are moments when it is possible to believe you are in just another, bustling, prosperous Asian city. Walking past the trendy shopping malls and restaurants of Clifton, the Arabian Sea sparkling in the background, all seems well – until you are reminded by the uniformed and armed security guards posted at every entrance. Money is spent in large quantities to keep the real world at bay, to give those Pakistanis who can afford it, a brief sense of normality.

Yet not so far off another siren is sounding. No pop, pop of gunfire, or the thump of a bomb. Today is a good day.

It makes the Australian election campaign, with its endless debate over issues such as paid parental leave and the carbon tax, seem very far away.