Mandate of fear and death

And no light showing at the end of the tunnel

The raw nerves of the MQM in the wake of the police raid on the business address of Altaf Hussain in London have shown forth in numerous ways, mostly in shape of its leaders shouting hoarse that their mandate should be recognised. In the process, they have demonstrated their unwillingness to listen to the other point of view. This is quite in consonance with the inherent culture of the party which is centred on creating the fear syndrome to push their way through. I dare say that the times have changed and so have the dynamics that would shape the next elections whenever they are held in the country. May be a repeat of May 12 would not be possible not because the MQM leadership may not desire it, but because the environment may no longer be conducive for such fascist activity.

Nevertheless, the dead bodies continue to fall on a daily basis in Karachi and in other parts of the country as various governments watch helplessly demonstrating either their complicity in the gory crime, or their utter helplessness in the face of the criminal onslaught unleashed by mafias that are out to strengthen their illicit fiefdoms to advance their personal interests. Nearing the next elections, these mafias are out to reinforce their brute power and their ill-gotten lethal instruments of destruction to drive fear in the hearts of people. This is being orchestrated by the militant wings of the political parties operating in Karachi, most notably the MQM, ANP and PPP. The Supreme Court, in its landmark judgement on the situation in the city, had advocated for the disbandment of these militant wings but, in spite of all these parties being part of the provincial government, one has not seen any initiative towards that end. Instead, the number of deaths has increased drastically in the last few months. So, what mandate are we talking about? Mandate of fear, murder, rape and usurpation of people’s right to live?

These mandates, if at all one would call them so, have been secured because of inherited positional strengths which have been exploited to perpetuate the subjugation syndrome. The ones who are unfortunately born in bondage are fated to remain so as would their future generations simply because they are dependent on the landlords and other people of influence for their survival, in fact their very life. If at all they dare raise their voice, they would be ruthlessly butchered and their females raped with abandon without the prospect of a case ever being registered. This is the way the system has worked and this is the way it would continue to work as all dual-nationality and fake-degree-suspect tax evading legislators sitting in the assemblies would collaborate to script ways and means for their continued survival and advancement. Left to the system, and come the next elections, they would only be replaced with bigger thieves and thugs who would then shout hoarse that their mandates should also be recognised.

If one were to objectively count the ‘blessings’ of the system, these are manifest in the continually depleting economic prospects, monumental corruption, liquidation of all state institutions, criminal collusion between the legislature and the executive to indulge in unabated loot and plunder, absence of a credible strategy to deal with increasing instances of terrorism and extremism, inability to regulate the extensive madrassa network which continues to indoctrinate impressionable youth with hate and militancy, failure to secure the lives and properties of the citizens and to provision their basic needs including education, health care and job opportunities. Above all else, people have lost hope. This is only a small measure of the ‘blessings’ of the ‘democratic’ government that came with a promise to remedy the damage that the last of the dictators had inflicted on the country. Instead, the incumbent aberration has only multiplied the agonies and sufferings of people who are literally consumed in the throes of extinction.

The latest spate of targeting of the lady workers who were conducting the polio vaccination campaign in various parts of the country resulting in eight deaths so far and the government’s inability to ensure their safety has led to the suspension of the campaign by the UN agencies including UNICEF and WHO. Concurrently, it has further bolstered the militant mindset that is behind this drive to spread suspicions about the polio vaccine even in areas that are far removed from the traditional Taliban strongholds. Lady Health Workers (LHWs) have also boycotted the campaign saying that they will resume their duties only when they are provided security of which the prospects appear minimal.

The upshot of the last four-and-a-half-years of the so-called ‘democratic’ government is its humiliating and abject surrender before the forces representing militancy and evil. It neither has the urge nor the strategy to combat the growing menace which now encompasses every facet of national life with people scared of even undertaking activities for their daily survival. Measure this failure against the gross protocol drills that ordinary citizens are subjected to on a daily basis waiting for hours so that some dual-nationality and fake-degree-suspect tax evading criminal could pass through. What utter shame! This is the ‘mandate’ that the ordinary mortals are supposed to recognise without protest.

Like I have been saying consistently, hold one election, or a hundred, even a thousand, there would be no change because the grass-root conditions in the country do not suit the kind of system that is contained in the statute book. We would continue to see criminals of all hues and shades getting elected to the legislatures given the miserable conditions they have reduced their surfs to. If change is ever envisaged, the dens of bondage which have been so cleverly articulated and protected will have to be razed. Failing that, come the next elections, get ready to greet another band of dons who would cry hoarse that their mandate should be recognised, too, and they should be allowed to continue their spree of loot and plunder – unchecked!

The writer is a political analyst. He can be reached at [email protected]