A venomous agenda that would spark bitter controversy
Altaf Hussain’s attempt to malign the person of the Quaid as part of his ‘drone attack’ is simply reprehensible that will be condemned broadly by all without exception. The very thought of finding a parallel between the Quaid’s upright and principled life and his uncompromising character and integrity that was acknowledged even by his fiercest political adversaries and the MQM chief’s vile foray into distorting history to win applause from a servile and captive audience reflect a degenerative mindset that will stop at nothing in its bid to promote a destabilising agenda.
The Quaid’s passport that Altaf Hussain showed as proof of his vituperative assault has never been a secret. It is dated 1946 when there was no Pakistan. Would the MQM chief suggest a way the Quaid could have secured a ‘Pakistani’ passport before the country had come into existence? But, hidden behind the attack on the Quaid was the real agenda of the MQM: carving out a separate province in Sindh where he could rule, unchecked and unchallenged.
The condemnable high-pitch drama notwithstanding, the address has also raised some critical questions – for the federal government of which the MQM is a partner, for Tahirul Qadri who has welcomed the MQM as part of his long march and for the people in general who are the ultimate custodians of the state of Pakistan. The federal government will have to decide whether it can continue to keep the MQM as a partner while allowing it to be part of the march against it, Tahirul Qadri will have to ascertain the damage that the MQM’s inclusion in the march will do to its legitimacy and the people of Pakistan will have to decide as to how long can they sustain the condemnable attempts to distort history and demonise the fair name of the Quaid. I have written previously about the legitimacy of the long march having been gravely jeopardised because of the acceptance of the MQM and the Chaudhrys as its participants. After this vile outburst, the prospect has magnified manifold.
The nearness of the long march seems to have unnerved the federal government and those who are commissioned with the task of ‘controlling’ it. The original nonchalant approach with which the news had been greeted has started giving way to ‘threats’ and imposition of ‘conditions’ on the participants and the transport owners. Tahirul Qadri has also been asked to secure a ‘no-objection certificate’ to enter Islamabad. But, what I am amazed at is the abject lack of cohesion between the so-called ‘democratic’ parties of the country in devising a credible strategy to either stop the march, or combat its possible impact. The federal government which shoulders the principal responsibility in this regard has failed to come out with any initiative that would aim at forging unity among the democratic forces of the country to meet the brewing challenge. All we have seen since the December 23 announcement has been a spate of statements trying to mitigate the possible impact of the long march and why it may not even take off. In this charade, the government has been joined in by the likes of Nawaz Sharif who, in all probability, would not like to credit anyone other than himself with the ability to take out a long march.
I also doubt the government’s sincerity in stopping the long march. In the first instance, so little effort seems to have gone into devising a plan to do so. Next, less than three months away from the end of its term, I see no reason why it should not announce a firm date when the assemblies would be dissolved paving the way for the interim government to take over to hold the elections. This could have been an effective weapon to take the initiative away from Tahirul Qadri. Consequently, there may actually be some substance to the rumours that the entire drama of the long march is being ‘sponsored’ to elongate the ‘life’ of the incumbent PPP-led government through the imposition of an emergency. Far-fetched that it may appear, and given the multiple other shenanigans that the PPP government has been part of, the possibility cannot be totally written off. At the same time, with the long march still days away, Islamabad has started looking like a caged city with important roads blocked with containers and other impediments. Will these physical barriers be sufficient to guard against the burgeoning crowds that come laden with energy that springs from multiplying frustrations they have to bear every day of their life?
Failure of governance in every conceivable sense had created an immense vacuum and the coming of Tahirul Qadri and other such self-proclaimed saviours was only a matter of time. Confronted with the daunting prospect, there was a need for more thought to have gone into planning an effective strategy to deal with a situation that is likely to emerge in the wake of the march. The government needed to have followed a consultative path by taking other stakeholders on board and devising a plan with their input. Instead, we have witnessed an increasing divisiveness among the political outfits with some of them joining in the march and others coming up with their own solutions that range from the bravado to the bizarre. What seems to have escaped the attention is that, leave aside the prospect of 4 million people gathering in the parade ground in Islamabad on January 14, even if a hundred-thousand people do so, it would create a massive administrative nightmare for the government. What would it do if there were an attempt to take over the buildings surrounding the D-ground? Will force be used? If yes, what can be the possible consequences and will the government have the necessary wherewithal in terms of legitimacy, planning, conviction and necessary support from other state institutions including the army to combat the threat? The MQM show in Karachi is possibly a preparation to reap the dividends consequent upon the mess that appears in the offing.
The writer is a political analyst. He can be reached at [email protected]
