The efforts of a patch up between the MQM and the PPP have not only proved hitherto abortive but also resulted in discontentment largely about the ability of the ruling party to resolve the prevailing crisis.
The reconciliation between the two parties over the years, since the PPP came into power, remained a hide and seek game suggesting somewhat of infantile nature leading many to be fed-up with, one day parting ways and getting back to the fold of the government the other day.
But the hide and seek game had never been an extreme one till the last departure by the MQM. Despite the differences, the MQM never went to the point of no-return. This was the reason what MQM was sought or pulled back each time either from London or Karachi, sometimes by Rehman Malik, Chaudhry Shujaat or Prime Minster Yousaf Raza Gilani or President Asif Ali Zardari themselves. In fact, the MQM was compelled back because it had not hid at a place unknown to the PPP.
But at present it is not a hide and seek, as the MQM is in complete defiance and yesterday called for the resignation of the prime minister. The latest stand-off between the two parties, if remained unresolved, would result in calls for an army action, already echoed by different quarters, and make the mending the relations difficult.
The PPP must understand that any army operation would prove the tip of the iceberg and could be more fatal for it than for the MQM, an MQM worker told Pakistan Today. “The crisis is the making of the PPP itself as it has been walking on a tight rope, as it is attempting to curtail the MQM’s influence. Some of the PPP leaders have been backing criminal gangs in the city,” the MQM worker said.
He went on to say that the army action would expose the PPP’s credentials of its ability to resolve an issue of political nature. “The PPP has always claimed that issues of political nature can only be resolved politically and if it calls army for action in the city, the chances of patch up will disappear for and would also lead to demands for removal of the Sindh government,” he said, adding that the people would be justified in asking that the Sindh government should resign if the army was to resolve the crisis.
The MQM activist was certain that the PPP would not risk an army action at the cost of the Sindh government.
When asked how the crisis could be resolved, he suggested that the PPP should rein in its certain leaders and stop them from supporting criminals, especially in Lyari.
In reply to a question about the news that the estranged partners had reached deal, but it could not be implemented, he said that the analogy of Indo-Pak relations could best describe the ties of ambivalent nature between the two parties. “Look, whenever there were chances of an agreement between India and Pakistan, a third unseen force came into action and disrupted the dialogue. “The same is happening in Karachi,” he remarked.
When asked about the solution to the problem, he said the PPP government must take action against criminals, which it was reluctant to do. “The PPP must take action as quickly as possible lest calls for army action should increase further, which would first lead to the demands for the Sindh government’s resignation and than for the federal government.”
The PPP must not play politics in Karachi at the expense of the whole country and political system. “The PPP is running short of time and needs to act swiftly,” the MQM worker concluded.
When contacted, Chaudhry Tasaddaq Masood, a PPP MNA, said there was no need of army action in Karachi and his party was eager to resolve the crisis in political terms. “The MQM should return to the government and make joint efforts for resolving the crisis. All the parties having a political base in Karachi should hold a joint meeting and come up with a solution,” he suggested.
