Hundreds of innocent people have lost their lives merely because of their ethnicity in the killing fields of Karachi. On Thursday, the deadliest day for the economic hub of the country, at least 33 more were killed.
The MQM has termed the carnage as ethnic cleansing of the Mohajirs whereas various government spokesmen have dubbed the phenomenon of kidnappings and bodies being left in guinea bags as gang wars. The truth is that it is a free-for-all in Karachi.
The current upsurge in violence started from the unexplained killings in Lyari, the stronghold of the PPP. Naturally, fingers were pointed at the MQM. Since then, killing and mayhem has spread to the rest of the city as well.
The struggle between the MQM, the PPP and the ANP (the three main ethnic groups trying to wrest control of Karachi) is at the root of the problem. According to some, the MQM that has maintained its suzerainty in urban Sindh during the long years of Musharraf is not willing to let go.
The Pashtuns, now virtually as large an ethnic group as the Mohajirs want their piece of the pie, which was always denied to them by their rivals. As far as the PPP is concerned, it stakes its claim in Karachi and in Sukkur and Hyderabad. To ensure stability of its government, the PPP entered into a coalition with the PML(Q) even before the MQM decided to leave the coalition.
The PPP however mistakenly calculated that it would be able to undo the gerrymandering in urban Sindh and impose the now-abandoned commissionerate system without the MQM offering any resistance. The current battle for turf has only resulted in a loss of innocent lives and untold miseries for the hapless citizens of the metropolis.
Theoretically, the MQM-PPP coalition in Sindh was good for political stability as well as for the sake of peace in the province. As blood is being spilt in Karachi with abandon, efforts to bring MQM back in the coalition are afoot.
Obviously, the MQM wants its pound of flesh. Reportedly it wants the ministries of interior (home) and local bodies in the province. The PPP will be loath to give away these key ministries as it will be rendered powerless in the province without them.
As it is, in the eyes of its own supporters in the province as well as in the eyes of the Sindhi nationalists, it is perceived to be kowtowing to the whims of the MQM. The complete success of the recent strike in Sindh called by the nationalists is a huge embarrassment for the PPP.
Governor Ebad has told the prime minister that the MQM would only consider joining the coalition once peace is restored. For that to happen, the MQM has to do a lot of explaining of its own.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik and the provincial administration have proved to be completely ineffective in quelling the violence in Karachi. Similarly, the Rangers have also proved to be ineffective. According to some reports, the military, which has already expressed dismay at the prevailing situation in the city, is making its own assessment.
At the end of the day, perhaps the army will have to be called in by the provincial government to restore peace in the city. Only by establishing a semblance of normalcy, political dialogue between the stakeholders can succeed.
President Zardari is between a rock and a hard place. If he is seen to give in to the MQM demands, it does not sit well with his own constituency in the party’s backyard. If, however, the present situation is allowed to drift, it can cost the PPP heavily.
In the meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif thinks that the solution to all problems is the holding of snap elections, “before institutions send the government packing”. Predictably, the prime minister has expressed surprise at the logic give by the PML(N) president for holding mid term elections.
Nawaz Sharif has quoted holding of snap general elections by him in 1993 as a precedent when he was unable to get along with the then president, Ghulam Ishaq Khan. Either the PML(N) president is suffering from a bout of amnesia or he is economising with the truth.
At the time when the PML(N) government after being dismissed by Ghulam Ishaq Khan was restored by the apex court, the presidency armed with article 58-2(B) created all kinds of hurdles in its working. To end the stalemate, the COAS General Waheed Kakar one fine day paid a visit to the prime minister requesting him to resign.
Sharif asked for some time to consult his father, Mian Sharif, and some other non-political advisors and thereby immediately rushed to Lahore. In a meeting in Lahore in which I was present as an observer, it was decided that Sharif should accept Kakar’s “offer” if Ghulam Ishaq is also made to resign and a caretaker neutral government headed by a person acceptable to him holds the general elections.
Sartaj Aziz recommended Moin Qureshi, the international banker. Nawaz Sharif’s proposal was accepted and after resignation of the president, Wasim Sajjad became the interim president and Moin Qureshi the caretaker prime minister.
The rest is history. The dice was heavily loaded against Sharif in the interim setup. He lost the elections and, to this day, he privately regrets being duped by Kakar. His disdain for military strongmen stems from the blunder he made at the time.
In the present scenario, the president and the prime minister not only belong to the same party but also are on the same page. Zardari derives his power from being the unchallenged head of the party. Despite a parliamentary system, the prime minister dare not defy the president.
As for the military, General Kayani has kept his generals out of active politics as a matter of deliberate strategy. Neither him nor his corps commanders socialize with or meet active politicians. Undoubtedly, the army has done its tweaking here and there.
Foreign policy remains the military’s domain and the government has given it a free reign in this area. President Zardari and Gilani unlike Nawaz Sharif as prime minister have gone an extra mile not to ruffle any feathers at the GHQ. The government neither has a constitutional obligation nor any political compulsion to hold mid-term elections.
Nevertheless, no civilian government in Pakistan can take the military for granted. Hence, there is a need to keep it on board. All the more reason the Karachi mess should be sorted out asap.
The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today