The unification of people plays a vital role in any nation’s development where civilians get together and become one voice on critical issues growing in the country. Similarly one more way of gathering everyone at one place is the method of referendum or polling in simple words. Referendum is a general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been referred to them for a direct decision. So what is that hot topic which is doing rounds in Pakistan nowadays? The national referendum announced by The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) asking Pakistanis if they want Quaid-e-Azam’s Pakistan or Taliban’s Pakistan.
Initially, this referendum was to be held on November 8, but then it was postponed to November 14 for some unknowing reasons and then the party again adjourned it in respect to Muslim holy month of Muharram. Firstly, the MQM took a good initiative for improving the severe conditions of Karachi but this referendum is of no use as it does not make any sense. Can MQM define ‘Quaid’s Pakistan’? Secondly, who has given the right to MQM to hold a national referendum on any issue? According to the leader of this party Pakistan was encircled by many problems and they want to pull it out of these problems as it would go a long way in strengthening the position of the country and put it on the path of progress and prosperity. I personally don’t think so, this is not an issue on which the people will be united instead they will get apart from each other as such referendums are just a matter of creating uproar amongst them.
On one side, the MQM wants to eradicate target killing from the country while on the contrary, they have introduced this plebiscite which will increase the number of killings rather than declining it. This referendum makes no sense to me because our leader Jinnah also wanted a state based on Islamic ideology and Taliban also want an Islamic nation, the difference is just that Taliban’s Islamic state runs on extremism. The MQM being very protective about its’ country walked out of the National Assembly because they wanted the prime minister to take action on the worsening conditions of Karachi. So now what are they doing by starting such referendums through which the turmoil will grow more rapidly?
The MQM is surely an influential political party of Pakistan, so they should try to eliminate the terror of Taliban from our motherland rather than handing over Pakistan to the Taliban. I still don’t understand what benefit they will give to Pakistan from this so-called voting campaign as it was Jinnah’s Pakistan, it is Jinnah’s Pakistan and it will remain Jinnah’s Pakistan, forever.
SANA MALIK
Karachi
