In politics, the habit of going it alone pays little dividends. The MQM didn’t seem to have realised this while withdrawing its support to the ruling coalition both at the federal and provincial level in the wake of the postponed polling in the two Karachi-based constituencies of the Azad Jammu Kashmir Assembly. For the first time, longest serving Sindh Governor Ishratul Abad Khan also stepped down in protest against what his leadership has termed the PPP’s autocratic and dictatorial mindset.
Altaf Hussain sounded a bit harsh while accusing the PPP of having stabbed his party in the back. It’s not clear if the one seat in the AJK elections had provided him an excuse to order his members to walk out of the ruling coalition or there was more to it that eventually led to the parting of the ways between the two coalition partners. The MQM blamed the PPP for constantly pressurising it to give up one of the two seats (both of which had been won by it in the last round of elections) and that its refusal to acquiesce resulted in the Election Commission announcing the postponement of polls.
There’s no doubt that the demand was unfair. But the PPP was seeking a small favour from the MQM to ensure its victory in the Azad Kashmir elections which the PML(N) wanted to use as a vehicle to give an impetus to its demand for mid-term polls in the country. If President Asif Zardari had the slightest idea about his party’s smooth sailing in the contest, he would not have offended his partners. Ever since the MQM was brought back into the fold of the government at the centre, the PPP has been careful enough not to hand it any major issue to force it to quit.
Since reconciliation remains central to Mr Zardari’s politics, every attempt was made to address the grievances of the MQM. Former Sindh Hone Minister Zulfikar Mirza – MQM’s pet aversion – was removed by his leadership only to placate the cantankerous ally. His fault: You could take him to the Nine-Zero to tender a word of apology for his scathing criticism of those patronising extortions and running mafias but, once out of the precincts of Karachi’s No 1 no-go-area, it would be impossible to stop him from calling a spade a spade. When not attending his office or preoccupied with other important engagements, reorganising the People’s Amn Committees was his only pastime.
Mirza was no Naseerullah Babar to stage a replay of the 1990s’ operations; all he was trying to do was to secure a foothold for his party in the country’s troubled financial capital which had been the PPP’s stronghold before Gen Zia ignited the flames of ethnicity to perpetuate his rule.
The military operations launched against its workers will continue to haunt the MQM leadership but then it also can’t escape the blame for settling scores with the political opponents inflicting more pains on them while being part of successive military dictatorships. The massacre of innocent citizens and activists of rival parties on May 12, 2007 during Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s visit to Karachi will not fade from the memory of the millions of people who watched the scenes of the worst manslaughter of our history live on their television screens.
Politically speaking, the MQM has a history of remaining part of every ruling coalition as long as it manages to exact concessions from its larger partners. But if its leadership thinks that its split with the PPP will improve its electoral performance, there are more chances of its hope being dashed. Given its uneasy relationships with other democratic forces in the past, its acceptance by the right-wing parties contemplating forming a grand alliance is highly unlikely. The PPP in the meanwhile has little reason to panic. It is comfortable at the centre with the PML(Q) on its side and continues enjoying simple majority in Sindh without the MQM in its fold.
Given the acrimony between the two parties and the constant headache the federal government had been getting from its angry partner, the PPP leadership may now feel compelled to call the MQM’s bluff. Mr Zardari knows that Altaf bhai et al are up to their old tricks once again but those who believe that he would simply sit back and watch the ‘miscreants’ push Karachi and Hyderabad into chaos must be grossly mistaken.
The MQM was well within its right to leave the ruling coalition. But at the cost of repetition, it needs reminding that its abortive attempt at expanding its political base beyond urban Sindh and the emergence of other strong groups in Karachi makes it imperative for it to rise above its ethnic prejudices and learn to coexist in a democratic polity.
The writer is Executive Editor, Pakistan Today