No sir, it isn’t going to work
An article is supposed to be an ‘informed opinion’. Or it should be an effort to answer questions regarding some occurrence or issue. Sadly, you will find none here; neither an opinion nor any convincing answers to the questions that the unsavoury spectacle of Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Khwaja Izharul Hassan’s arrest last Friday, has given birth to.
The first question that comes to mind is; who is running the affairs of Karachi? Is it the civilian provincial government? Is there a parallel government operating from Dubai? Is there someone who is pulling the strings from the Interior Ministry in Islamabad? Is it a lone police officer whose reputation precedes him wherever he goes? Or is it the Rangers-Army combined that is leading the Karachi cleansing operation?
Also, where is IM Nisar? As of now, there is no official word from the federal interior ministry on this development, nor has someone seen the man in charge of this ministry since.
No one can believe that the provincial Sindh government is as powerful or over-confident to embark on such an adventure. Let’s suppose that it probably has done all this clandestinely. But then what could it possibly achieve from it; to risk activating a potential volcano and be swept away in its lava? Same can be said about Asif Ali Zardari, if he is really running a parallel government from abroad. Zardari and Sindh PPP government’s interests are same. So, if something is bad for the Sindh government, how can it be good for Zardari? Secondly, in the given situation, PPP may not further alienate an already beleaguered political companion. Going by its public political philosophy such an act in the current struggle between civilians and military side may weaken democracy.
Nothing has suggested so far that the federal government had anything to do with this episode, except that the most relevant person of the federal government is missing since then. But that is not a valid reason to doubt the involvement of the centre in the issue as that chap is always found missing whenever his presence is needed the most. Further, it had nothing to gain from such a misadventure in a province where it has least political stakes and interest.
So, should we assume that all this absurdity was the handiwork of a dutiful and honest police officer who just acted on the call of his conscience or that he did just what was required by the law? That SSP Rao Anwer was driven by his love and respect for the law, is unbelievable for most.
During the initial hours and days, fingers were mostly pointed at the ‘force’ (call it army or Rangers) which is considered the head of maintenance of law and order in Karachi is concerned;. But as the drama unfolded and results started coming in, many such believers started revisiting their reservations. The results favoured MQMP like nothing did during the past some time, or since the start of the Rangers operation in Karachi, to be precise. Nobody can believe that army – or a lone individual – will shoot itself in the foot. But then shooting oneself idiomatically is always inadvertent.
So, that still leaves us with our original question; who is in charge?
The episode has turned the country into a laughing stock internationally, lending credence to the propaganda that Pakistan is a banana republic or a failed state without any central authority or established institutional hierarchy. Rao Anwar has brought down the level of discussion about Pakistan from a ‘division between institutions’ to a state run by ‘whimsical individuals’.
If a satisfactory answer is not found, this episode has the potential to lead to a more dangerous situation. Whatever, the intended message of this failed operation was, it ended up in creating the impression among the Urdu speaking population as if the state has some deep malice not against the MQM (Altaf) but the whole of Muhajir community. This certainly will not augur well for the future of the state. It simply cannot afford to allow alienation of another ethnic group, keeping in view the negative undercurrents among the Baloch and to some extent the Pukhtoons who have started feeling victims of a prolonged terrorism spell and the consequent military operations against it.
The manner in which Izharul Hassan was arrested ensuring it was shown to the world can’t be justified under the ‘legal requirement’ argument. The way the infamous SSP acted resembled a criminal more than a law enforcing officer. He acted like terrorists act in this country; he first performed an antic to attract attention and then– in media’s presence – moved in for the kill.
Elected leaders worldwide are not arrested and treated like that nor do the law enforcing agencies conduct such potentially harmful things in front of the media. The argument that it is not necessary to inform or take permission from the CM or the IG to arrest a culprit is valid but only legally. There are some political realities which can’t be ignored, like high profile actions – which are likely to entail political, social or law and order implications – are normally taken after taking higher-ups in confidence and after a decision is taken in this regard by such an authority.
Rao Anwar’s was a stupid strategy because the media acquired and showed images which can be used to alienate a whole ethnic group and even instigate some among the younger generation to resort to violence. These images have conveyed and can be used to convey a totally opposite message of what Rao Anwar and his handler(s) wanted to send across.
Now, what that intended message was and who ordered this man in uniform to do what he did is up to the provincial government and the army-led intelligence agencies to unearth and share with people. It is because the incidence and the way he acted has not only compromised the provincial government’s position vis-à-vis its control over its subordinate agencies and departments but also because it has given birth to doubts about the military establishment’s possible role in this affair, undermining the efforts of the army and its chief to build a positive image of the forces.
Besides causing damage to civilians and military side alike this ugly episode has raised some serious questions about where does the ultimate authority rests in Pakistan. Can anyone do anything in the name of duty and law and national interest here – and that too according to his or her own interpretation of all these phenomena? And can the state allow any whimsical individual to pursue an agenda under the banner of ‘law and legality’ to cause serious damage to national unity and undo what the state’s military and civilian institutions have achieved after great effort?
Someone has to clip the wings of such unscrupulous elements, even if they are in uniform. If both the government and intelligence agencies failed to disclose the real truth, it will mean none of them has full control on the steering wheel, either in Karachi or elsewhere.
