The Sindh government has finally revived the local government system on August 8 by revoking the commissionerate system with the sole purpose of appeasing its estranged coalition partner, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and to bring the party back to the ruling alliance.
The MQM quit the federal and provincial governments on June 27, with much fanfare and pledges of not becoming a part of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government again that has plenty of skills and acumen to frequently annoy its coalition partners, the opposition, the judiciary and the masses.
Taking advantage of the MQM’s absence from the coalition government, the ruling party hurriedly revived the commissionerate system on July 10 and vowed to change the entire set-up by making the local governance more effective.
However, after hectic meetings with the MQM, the ‘notorious’ reconciliation policy of the PPP buried the commissionerate system hardly 28 days after its revival and after the killing of more than 500 people in Karachi.
In other words, it can be said that the revived local government system carries the blood stains of more than 500 people, who have been killed in the recent spree of violence.
When the MQM quit the coalition, all parties in Karachi whole-heartedly participated in violent activities to establish their supremacy and teach a lesson to their rival party.
There were reports that the PPP fully supported the anti-MQM forces, especially the Haqiqi faction, to tame the estranged MQM, while the diehard activists of Altaf Bhai also defended their turf, but they faced a very stiff resistance this time around as unlike the past, they did not enjoy the backing of the establishment/GHQ and the intelligence agencies.
The political history of MQM points out that without the adequate support of establishment or any intelligence agency, the party cannot fight with its rivals in Karachi and cannot stay in the opposition for a long time.
During the era of Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, the MQM enjoyed blanket support of the establishment, including the Military Intelligence for about eight years and the party stayed dominant in Karachi as long as Musharraf remained in power.
However, this time best option for the MQM is to remain a part of the coalition government to enjoy the limited ‘luxuries’ and ‘rights’.
Now that the PPP and MQM have sorted out their differences, a few questions arise about the bloodshed in Karachi, known as the financial capital of the country.
Who is responsible for the killing of more than 500 people in a month? Will the government provide justice to the families, whose loved ones have been killed in the nasty murder game?
Will the government expose the professional killers, irrespective of their affiliations, who had turned Karachi into a land of bloodbath?
Will the government provide any compensation to the families of the victims?
REHMAN BABA VS SINDHI BABAS: It is astonishing to note that whenever violence and targeted killings reach their apex in Karachi, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, known as Rehman Baba in media circles, is dispatched to Karachi by President Asif Ali Zardari.
Every time, the magic of Rehman Baba works and he not only succeeds in winning the support of MQM, but the killings also stop.
Now a question arises: What are our Sindhi Babas – Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Home Minister Manzoor Wasan, and Works Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza – doing in the Sindh government.
If the Sindh chief minister and other mighty ministers are unable to tackle violence and targeted killing, they should quit their jobs and return to their homes to start preaching or business and not waste the precious time of the people and national resources.
People and analysts have come to the conclusion that if the PPP-MQM friendship can silence the guns of the bloodthirsty professional killers in Karachi, it strongly suggests that both parties are an integral part of the bloodshed in the city.
