| December 5, 2002 | Thursday | Ramazan 29,1423 |
Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)
Arbitrary moves & actions
WITH the Muttahida Qaumi Movement back in the Jamali camp, the situation in Sindh seems to be changing once again in favour of the PML-Q. Only last week, the MQM had announced that it would sit on the opposition benches in the National Assembly because of its strong reservation about the government’s handling of Karachi’s “no go” areas. The decision with regard to dissociation with the federal government obviously meant that the MQM would not cooperate with the PML-Q in government formation in Sindh, too. By implication it also meant that the PML-Q’s loss at the centre might prove to be the PPP’s gain in Sindh, where the party, with 67 seats, has a plurality in the assembly and can form a government with or without PML-Q support. This must have been a spine-chilling thought for the powers that be. Now, with the MQM having reversed its earlier position, new possibilities open up for the PML-Q for a government of its choice in alliance with the MQM, which is the second biggest party in the province.
A big question now surrounds the MQM’s insistence that it should get the chief ministership. In a house of 163 — (actually 168, because five seats are still vacant) — the MQM has 41 seats. A couple of these seats are also from the rural areas. But, by and large, the MQM represents Sindh’s urban population. On the other hand, whatever parties the MQM lends support to have a basically rural base. Whether the MQM chooses to align itself with the PPP — which is highly unlikely — or with the PML-Q, National Alliance, PML-F and others, the majority thus formed will be overwhelmingly representing the rural areas. A chief minister, thus, has to be from the majority constituency. In the past, the MQM had sometimes settled for a more practical solution — that either of Sindh’s two top posts (chief minister or governor) should go to it. This position the MQM can still adopt so as to remove a major hurdle in the way of transfer of power in Sindh. Since the governor is appointed by the president, it is quite possible that the general may oblige the MQM on this score to ensure its continued support for the Jamali government. As an alternative, one could think of having a deputy chief minister. Even though there is no such post in the other provinces, the idea could perhaps be considered for Sindh because of its peculiar ethnic mix.
The Sindh Assembly should now meet without delay. All parties agree on this. In fact, the All Parties Conference the other day threatened a countrywide strike if the assembly did not meet soon. The call for a strike was wholly uncalledfor. Our politicians must learn to fight the battles for democracy in a democratic way and not through strikes and other violence-prone coercive methods. The Oct 10 elections might not have been a flawless process but, in spite of that, its outcome has been generally accepted and the transfer of power to the people’s representatives has taken place in three provinces and at the centre. Sindh is still without an elected government because the politicians and those pulling strings from behind the scenes have queered the pitch for the post-poll parliamentary process. Let the politicians behave responsibly. Prime Minister Jamali’s statement on Tuesday that the majority group would be allowed to form a government in Sindh is to be welcomed. No one in Islamabad should attempt to fish in Sindh’s troubled waters only to have a government of his choice. Let the politicians themselves decide freely and without coercion and bribery who they wish to team up with to give the people a democratic government.
THE Balochistan chief minister is reported to have asked for the release, before Eid, of all prisoners belonging to banned religious organizations. There is no mention of any case-by-case consideration of the prisoners to be freed. If the indiscriminate post-9/11 sweep of religious activists was wrong, the indiscriminate release of those held is also wrong. The parties to which they belonged and that were banned by the government were involved in promoting sectarian strife and, violence in Pakistan. It is easy to forget the mayhem inflicted on innocent citizens in the name of religion — attacks on worshippers, targeted killings of people belonging to this sect or the other, and ride-by assassinations. But these were crimes against humanity and the state, and should not be condoned. Individuals against whom there are definite allegations should be held answerable. The outlawing of the parties concerned was a federal decision, and the detention of their activists and members was a consequence of that step. Whatever action has to be taken in the matter should be on a countrywide basis, and no single province should act on its own for what may be considered narrow partisan purposes. Short-term political gain may result in a renewal of sectarian and religious militancy in the long run.
The problem is that the federal government itself appears to have allowed its policy on this score to be clouded by political expediency. This paper has already commented on the state’s plea to the Supreme Court against the election and release of Maulana Azam Tariq, leader of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba, asking why the Election Commission had in the first place accepted his nomination papers. Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, head of the Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, renamed Jamaat Al Daawa, has also been freed on court orders, which means that the government failed to present a convincing case against him. Immediately after his release, he has called for the continuation of jihad in the Kashmir context. The government’s refusal to take note of allegations of corruption against some of those associated with or backing the PML(Q) has further eroded its right to ask others to stick to laws and legal procedures.
It is important that the MMA, which represents the religious right and has become a key player following the general election, makes it clear to its chief ministers and its legislators that it does not endorse giving a clean chit to all those implicated in sectarian violence or militancy detrimental to peace, stability, and the delicate balancing act that Pakistan is called upon to play in the existing international climate. The alliance should not allow itself to be pulled in different directions by its constituent units and be put in the awkward position of having to justify arbitrary decisions taken without due consideration of all relevant factors. It should also be conscious of the criticism building up against its leaderships in Balochistan and the Frontier of getting involved in trivial matters at the cost of more pressing economic and social issues. It is easy to ban music, but far more difficult to prevent profiteering, smuggling and so forth, and the MMA has to decide what is more relevant to the needs of the people. Where the Jamali government is concerned, it should not let matters drift. It should establish a proper dialogue with provincial governments and seek agreement on policy guidelines so that later confrontation can be avoided. In the particular instance of the banned sectarian groups, it should have a uniform approach that is in conformity with the law of the land and justice.