Peace in Karachi

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Not possible with muhajir card

Karachi continues to suffer from violence conducted in the name of sect, religion and ethnicity. On Monday, the killing of a cleric led to rioting and killings. Incidents of violence in the city recorded during the last one year have outnumbered those in KP or Balochistan, known for high levels of violence. A SC bench headed By CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry heard the viewpoints of different stakeholders in the city on the issue last year. These included political leaders, officials of the provincial government and security agencies including the ISI. Taking note of the political polarisation and ethnic strife in the metropolis, the court ordered on October 6, 2011, among other measures, the alteration of the boundaries of administrative units, like police stations and revenue estates so that members of different communities may live together in peace and harmony instead of allowing various groups to claim these particular areas as no-go areas under their fearful influence. The verdict asked for a fresh delimitation of constituencies and directed the Election Commission to initiate the process in this regard. No political party challenged the decision.

That MQM also agreed to the decision that called for fresh delimitation of constituencies was recognised by Altaf Hussain himself on Sunday. But then using some of the remarks attributed to Justice Jamali last week he abruptly took an about-turn. Any delimitation without new census will be unconstitutional, he said. The judge’s remarks, he maintained, were “absolutely unconstitutional, autocratic and biased”. “A bench of the apex court doesn’t have the right to suggest that constituencies should be delimited to avoid political polarisation…This is an open affront of the public mandate given to the MQM and a conspiracy to steal this mandate.” If the MQM chief considered any particular remarks to be against the law, he could have taken recourse to the SC. The words that he used were threatening. In Karachi, where peace hangs by a thread, they are ominous.

By again trying to use the ethnic card, Altaf Hussain has dismayed those who had hoped the change of nomenclature from Mohajir to Muttahida would encourage MQM to try to represent the entire population of Karachi instead of a particular ethnic group. Attempts continue to be made to keep the pot boiling in Karachi as the Monday incident indicates. The manipulation of constituencies under Musharraf has added to the ethnic strife in Karachi. Every politician who cares for the metropolis needs to move towards uniting the people rather than dividing them.