The massacres in Karachi last month appear to be part of a pattern. Or maybe not. Who knows? But they are not random occurrences and, if word of mouth is anything to go by, seem to represent an orchestrated plot to have the provincial government replaced by someone in uniform
SINCE its ignominious surrender before the joint command of India and Bangladesh forces in 1971, June 10 may perhaps mark the darkest day for the military when the ramparts of its citadel, Corps Commander no less, was waylaid in broad daylight in Karachi’s posh locality of Clifton. His driver was among the killed. The brazen attack was audacious in concept and efficient in execution.
Lest one forget, the Corps Commander was travelling behind schedule and had a full posse of military and police guard — four jeeps in front and one at the back. To make doubly sure, there was a decoy preceding the commander. So the attack may not have surprised him unless he meant heavy security to be ceremonial or only to be one with the Joneses. With a Corps Commander so insecure and vulnerable, what could the 149 million people expect and from whom in terms of security?
One need not be surprised at elaborate security arrangements. Our military commanders are no less insecure than we are and need protection so as to be able to provide us the same, mostly from enemies within. A commander’s residence presents fortress-like features with commandos even guarding the roof of the mosque inside the residence whenever the commander decides to bow before his Creator. That neighbours face difficulties is another matter.
Two days after the incident, there was another equally vicious attack at the residence of an FC official at Dera Ismail Khan. Again the damage was collateral. The latest attack has to be viewed as a departure from the typical acts of terrorism, being the first to target military commanders, for whom the people usually show regard and respect. Earlier attacks on the Chief of Army Staff, which were near misses, were no less heinous or frightening but they belonged to a different genre, being less a challenge to the military than to the person of the ‘masked’ politician in uniform.
The two attacks are being linked to the ongoing operation in Wana where one Nek Muhammad, characterized as some little guy by Qazi Husain Ahmad of Jamaat-i-Islami, vowed to exact revenge for the military operation in and around Wana. He mentioned Karachi and Islamabad in his BBC interview as possible targets.
The massacres in Karachi last month appear to be part of the pattern. Or maybe not. Who knows? But they are not random occurrences and, if word of mouth is anything to go by, seem to represent an orchestrated plot to have the provincial government, symbolized by an MQM Governor, replaced by someone in uniform so as to acquire a direct role in the running of the province. It has only been about a year-and-a-half that elections were held and a little less than that when the new provincial government was cobbled up, which has already been shown the door in the wake of May upheavals.
The Shias and Sunnis of Karachi aren’t mad at each other. If one goes by one’s understanding of the situation, there is no bad blood between them. The MQM has subsumed these communal sentiments. It is the ultra-religious hoods trained and tended during the infamous Zia period precisely for the purpose — to be unleashed on the unsuspecting people by his successors when the time comes. The old dictator may be dead. Long live the dictator! On its part, the MMA is not an unwitting part of the arrangement, its pathological hatred for MQM being no state secret.
People have still not forgotten how in an effort to replace sham with genuine democracy, constituencies were redrawn to favour some individuals and groups, candidates were ‘cleared’ and/or selected, or disqualified, local alliances were forged, elections were organized, results were delayed, manoeuvred and manufactured and later when the number game did not tally, the elected members were coerced into a coalition of the willing to impose a wholly unrepresentative setup on the province as well as in the rest of the country. The MQM had to be a part of this coalition of the willing, as arithmetic of the elections favoured the PPP in spite of whatever that happened during the elections. The MQM’s presence in power corridors is an anathema to the real wielders of power. But they had to swallow the bitter pill and bide for time, which, many believe, may now have arrived. Recent events presage the disenchantment of the handlers; hence the mayhem. Is it all a part of an old script?
The government of Pakistan lies to its people, and allies itself to the United States in the name of fighting terrorism. Iraq was occupied with full military might of the sole superpower having been brought to bear on that unfortunate country known for its Abu Ghuraib prison, but we were occupied without a single fire being shot. Only a phone! That is it. Don’t forget the routine incursions by American aircraft as well as troops across Afghanistan border in gratitude for our hospitality and the bases we gave them. Official denials provide proof for this perfidy. As a result of carrying out the foreign agenda, the incidents of terrorism have increased and we are the most terrorized society. Whether the latest incident involving the Corps Commander and FC personnel would provide additional support to the argument that the Sindh government has failed remains to be seen. The logic would be twisted and turned to synchronize with the grand design underlying the spate of terrorist attacks in the past few weeks.
So it seems that the goose of Sindh government and particularly of the MQM is cooked. The MQM supremo has said that the MMA, in league with some Fifth Columnists, were out to foment trouble, and he has asked his party workers to prepare themselves for yet another operation against them. By-election results could not have been annulled because the Chief Election Commissioner suddenly decided to act independent. It just does not match our history. The poor thing could only have been carrying out orders.
By the looks of it, history may well repeat itself once the budgets are out of the way. The old guards may soon re-appear on the scene. It may be left to the law enforcement agencies to go whimsical in their encounters with alleged terrorists. Karachi is the goose that lays golden eggs. It generates resources both for the national exchequer as well as for the flesh-eaters. But we are fast descending into an abyss. Pakistan never seems to have a dull moment as uncertainty makes it one of the most interesting places. But this element of uncertainty is tinged with anxiety. We are reaping a harvest of our front-line status in the American fight against terrorism.
The question of the General’s uniform is also agitating the minds of drawing-room gossip-mongers. He may still decide to keep his uniform. Constitution is nothing but a convenience. At best it could be amended and at worst ignored. After all, it has been ignored day in and day out. For instance, in the case of the NFC, the Constitution mandates the appointment of the NFC every five years, and the present arrangement that governs distribution of resources is more than seven years old. In case of water disputes, the ultimate decision has to be made by the Council of Common Interest (CCI). To circumvent the CCI, two insipid and uninspiring committees have been appointed. So where is the Constitution?
The stock market has responded negatively to the killings in Karachi. They, for some mysterious reason, place greater faith in change per se, and more so in military methods, perhaps hoping against hopelessness. A military persona is preferable to them. It is another matter that the so-called elected government does not represent anybody except the establishment itself. To our utter shame, we have developed a knack for finding the worst among the available lot into an art form. This is intended to show how incompetent the civilians are. Nobody can question their questionable gerrymandering of politics.
Overall, a highly unpredictable situation prevails. Tensions are at an all-time high. The slightest mis-step could conflagrate the situation out of control and sink the city into a bloodbath.
What is the way out? Elections and fair elections only. The closest we get to second-guessing the people’s mood is the recent polls in India which indicate that given half a chance, the people of Pakistan would like to follow them and see the back of all the five governments here. People, here, look with great deal of envy at the power of the powerless people of India. Our army will not go back to the barracks where it belongs nor would it release the levers of power unless it is forced to, and that can happen only when a disaster strikes. Remember, one had struck in 1971.
To paraphrase Arundathi Roy, what we need to search for and find is a new kind of politics. Not the politics of governance, but the politics of resistance. The politics of opposition. The politics of forcing accountability. The politics of joining hands across the world and preventing certain destruction. In the present circumstances, I’d say that the only thing worth globalizing is dissent.
The massacres in Karachi last month appear to be part of a pattern. Or maybe not. Who knows? But they are not random occurrences and, if word of mouth is anything to go by, seem to represent an orchestrated plot to have the provincial government replaced by someone in uniform 
