By Amir Zia
Monday, January 6, 2014
The News
Calls for the division of Sindh or attempts to decide matters – from local bodies to the controversial quota system – purely on the basis of brute numbers have all the potential of pushing the province towards a cycle of conflict and disorder.
The Pakistan People’s Party’s political wizards must be congratulated for outsmarting their former ally, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), on every front and forcing it to take an extreme position where this urban-based party now appears to be standing all alone.
MQM leader Altaf Hussain’s call for the division of Sindh province and his rhetoric of turning this demand into a slogan for a separate country if the Urdu-speaking people remain denied of “their rights” underlines the growing desperation within his party ranks and its dearth of viable options to political goals. After remaining a PPP ally for almost five years and then trying to act as a formidable opposition in recent months, the MQM finds itself at a dead end on all issues close to its heart.
To begin with, the PPP is in no mood to give a strong, powerful and autonomous local bodies system in Sindh where it runs the provincial government with a comfortable majority. The PPP’s intentions to get a desired mandate in Karachi are reflected in its efforts to change the constituencies ahead of the local elections and continued tinkering of the local bodies laws.
The controversial rural-urban quota system in Sindh, the oppressive provincial taxation system, which targets mainly the urban centres and exempts large land owners and feudals from paying taxes on their agricultural income, and dispute over the allocation of development funds remain the other key issues polarising politics of this multi-ethnic province, though the MQM has not been able to put it effectively in the context and take the urban dwellers belonging to other ethnic groups into confidence on issue-based urban politics.
The ethnic fault lines and divisions sharpen further as major political parties are at loggerheads with one another to safeguard or expand their control in the country’s financial and industrial hub of Karachi.
Unfortunately, most major political parties, overtly or covertly, are playing the ethnic card, which possesses the inherent danger of igniting widespread armed conflict among various communities, nationalities and ethnic groups living in this province. Karachi and Hyderabad have seen trailers of bloody mayhem and chaos on ethnic lines scores of times since the mid-1980s.
The province has all the ingredients that can explode anytime as the main political players and stakeholders have failed to develop a consensus on any of the major issues in a democratic spirit which thrives on pluralism and acknowledging and celebrating the political and economic rights of all groups and segments in society.
Efforts to bring harmony in Sindh’s politics through a working arrangement between the rural and urban political forces failed to give the desired results as the PPP-MQM ruling coalition (2008-13) ended on a bitter note after almost five years of partnership. The PPP-MQM relationship was marred with distrust and back-stabbing.
Even while being partners, the workers of the two sides never hesitated from resorting to tit-for-tat killings in the urban jungle of Karachi. The PPP took the MQM for a ride through sweet talk and endless rounds of meetings, but ensured that its partner never got what it was vying for – an effective local government system seen as a must to run big cities like Karachi. In that sense, the PPP politicians appear more astute and savvy compared to their MQM counterparts.
The former PPP-MQM ruling coalition passed the Sindh People’s Local Government (SPLG) Act, 2012 in the provincial assembly with a thumping two-thirds majority toward the end of the five-year term on October 1, 2012. For the MQM, the victory proved to be just on paper as there was hardly any time left for the holding of the local elections.
All through its term, the PPP kept its urban partner uneasy and on a tight leash in Karachi by supporting the Peoples’ Amn Committee of Lyari, which was allowed to operate its vast extortion racket with impunity and confront the MQM’s muscle power blow by blow in various strategic commercial, industrial and financial neighbourhoods.
The PPP’s duplicity and former interior minister Rehman Malik’s diplomacy ensured that the ruling party got what it wanted from the MQM to complete its term at the centre without conceding any ground and major hiccup. The MQM was forced to play on the PPP’s terms for what seemed to be its short-term vested interests of clinging to whatever crumbs of power offered to the party.
The PPP took no time to repeal the SPLG Act once the MQM walked out of the coalition a few months before the 2013 general elections, raising questions about the timing of its decision.
Since then, the PPP has made a string of changes and amendments in the local bodies system, making it literary ineffective and hostage to the whims and dictates of the provincial government. The urban representatives found themselves having no say in matters because of their small number in the provincial assembly.
The situation becomes more complicated given the fact that the PPP’s Sindh Assembly lawmakers mostly belong to the rural constituencies. On the basis of their majority, these rural area representatives are taking decisions on managing large cities without taking into account the aspirations of the urban population.
At one level, the PPP’s stance can be justified since in democracy it is the majority that decides. Hypothetically speaking, if the MQM wins all the provincial assembly seats in Karachi and Hyderabad, even then it will not be able to change the equation.
Therefore, the MQM supreme leader has suddenly upped the ante of his demand, which is all set to further polarise an already complex and highly emotionally charged situation. In doing this, the MQM has opted for a solo flight as all the other stakeholders – from the Jamaat-e-Islami to Sindhi nationalists, the Pakhtun-representative Awami National Party and the PPP – have joined ranks in opposing the demand of a separate province carved on ethnic lines.
This brings ominous tidings for the province and undermines efforts to bring peace, normality and rule of the law to Karachi where an operation is underway against militants and criminal mafias, which have held the city hostage in recent years.
The kind of political vision and statesmanship needed to resolve the festering issues of the urban and rural Sindh remain amiss as all major stakeholders are opting for brinkmanship and emotional posturing. But the situation calls for moderate and level-headed thinking.
Sindh and its urban centres will be better served if the rural and urban representatives, instead of taking the road of confrontation, make an effort to resolve the issues on the basis of give and take and build consensus in a democratic spirit that is inclusive and takes into account the diversity of the province. Calls for the division of Sindh or attempts to decide matters – from local bodies to the controversial quota system – purely on the basis of brute numbers have all the potential of pushing the province towards a cycle of conflict and disorder.
Given the current level of political heat and discord, the holding of the much-delayed census too has the potential to become another hot potato. But that would be a step in the right direction and help taking into account the changed provincial demography and deciding the representation in parliament and the provincial assembly.
Evading or brushing the problems under the carpet won’t serve the cause of Sindh. It is time for the political parties to take stock of the situation and move towards resolving the contradictions.
Ideally, the PPP, the MQM and the ANP – being secular and liberal forces – should be natural allies and work to promote ethnic and political harmony in the province for the economic uplift and betterment of the people. To do this, they have to raise themselves above their narrow vested interests and resolve the set of challenges thrown at them in a democratic manner. The people of Sindh deserve better and our politicians have to prove that they are worthy of their leadership.
Monday, January 6, 2014
The News
Calls for the division of Sindh or attempts to decide matters – from local bodies to the controversial quota system – purely on the basis of brute numbers have all the potential of pushing the province towards a cycle of conflict and disorder.
The Pakistan People’s Party’s political wizards must be congratulated for outsmarting their former ally, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), on every front and forcing it to take an extreme position where this urban-based party now appears to be standing all alone.
MQM leader Altaf Hussain’s call for the division of Sindh province and his rhetoric of turning this demand into a slogan for a separate country if the Urdu-speaking people remain denied of “their rights” underlines the growing desperation within his party ranks and its dearth of viable options to political goals. After remaining a PPP ally for almost five years and then trying to act as a formidable opposition in recent months, the MQM finds itself at a dead end on all issues close to its heart.
To begin with, the PPP is in no mood to give a strong, powerful and autonomous local bodies system in Sindh where it runs the provincial government with a comfortable majority. The PPP’s intentions to get a desired mandate in Karachi are reflected in its efforts to change the constituencies ahead of the local elections and continued tinkering of the local bodies laws.
The controversial rural-urban quota system in Sindh, the oppressive provincial taxation system, which targets mainly the urban centres and exempts large land owners and feudals from paying taxes on their agricultural income, and dispute over the allocation of development funds remain the other key issues polarising politics of this multi-ethnic province, though the MQM has not been able to put it effectively in the context and take the urban dwellers belonging to other ethnic groups into confidence on issue-based urban politics.
The ethnic fault lines and divisions sharpen further as major political parties are at loggerheads with one another to safeguard or expand their control in the country’s financial and industrial hub of Karachi.
Unfortunately, most major political parties, overtly or covertly, are playing the ethnic card, which possesses the inherent danger of igniting widespread armed conflict among various communities, nationalities and ethnic groups living in this province. Karachi and Hyderabad have seen trailers of bloody mayhem and chaos on ethnic lines scores of times since the mid-1980s.
The province has all the ingredients that can explode anytime as the main political players and stakeholders have failed to develop a consensus on any of the major issues in a democratic spirit which thrives on pluralism and acknowledging and celebrating the political and economic rights of all groups and segments in society.
Efforts to bring harmony in Sindh’s politics through a working arrangement between the rural and urban political forces failed to give the desired results as the PPP-MQM ruling coalition (2008-13) ended on a bitter note after almost five years of partnership. The PPP-MQM relationship was marred with distrust and back-stabbing.
Even while being partners, the workers of the two sides never hesitated from resorting to tit-for-tat killings in the urban jungle of Karachi. The PPP took the MQM for a ride through sweet talk and endless rounds of meetings, but ensured that its partner never got what it was vying for – an effective local government system seen as a must to run big cities like Karachi. In that sense, the PPP politicians appear more astute and savvy compared to their MQM counterparts.
The former PPP-MQM ruling coalition passed the Sindh People’s Local Government (SPLG) Act, 2012 in the provincial assembly with a thumping two-thirds majority toward the end of the five-year term on October 1, 2012. For the MQM, the victory proved to be just on paper as there was hardly any time left for the holding of the local elections.
All through its term, the PPP kept its urban partner uneasy and on a tight leash in Karachi by supporting the Peoples’ Amn Committee of Lyari, which was allowed to operate its vast extortion racket with impunity and confront the MQM’s muscle power blow by blow in various strategic commercial, industrial and financial neighbourhoods.
The PPP’s duplicity and former interior minister Rehman Malik’s diplomacy ensured that the ruling party got what it wanted from the MQM to complete its term at the centre without conceding any ground and major hiccup. The MQM was forced to play on the PPP’s terms for what seemed to be its short-term vested interests of clinging to whatever crumbs of power offered to the party.
The PPP took no time to repeal the SPLG Act once the MQM walked out of the coalition a few months before the 2013 general elections, raising questions about the timing of its decision.
Since then, the PPP has made a string of changes and amendments in the local bodies system, making it literary ineffective and hostage to the whims and dictates of the provincial government. The urban representatives found themselves having no say in matters because of their small number in the provincial assembly.
The situation becomes more complicated given the fact that the PPP’s Sindh Assembly lawmakers mostly belong to the rural constituencies. On the basis of their majority, these rural area representatives are taking decisions on managing large cities without taking into account the aspirations of the urban population.
At one level, the PPP’s stance can be justified since in democracy it is the majority that decides. Hypothetically speaking, if the MQM wins all the provincial assembly seats in Karachi and Hyderabad, even then it will not be able to change the equation.
Therefore, the MQM supreme leader has suddenly upped the ante of his demand, which is all set to further polarise an already complex and highly emotionally charged situation. In doing this, the MQM has opted for a solo flight as all the other stakeholders – from the Jamaat-e-Islami to Sindhi nationalists, the Pakhtun-representative Awami National Party and the PPP – have joined ranks in opposing the demand of a separate province carved on ethnic lines.
This brings ominous tidings for the province and undermines efforts to bring peace, normality and rule of the law to Karachi where an operation is underway against militants and criminal mafias, which have held the city hostage in recent years.
The kind of political vision and statesmanship needed to resolve the festering issues of the urban and rural Sindh remain amiss as all major stakeholders are opting for brinkmanship and emotional posturing. But the situation calls for moderate and level-headed thinking.
Sindh and its urban centres will be better served if the rural and urban representatives, instead of taking the road of confrontation, make an effort to resolve the issues on the basis of give and take and build consensus in a democratic spirit that is inclusive and takes into account the diversity of the province. Calls for the division of Sindh or attempts to decide matters – from local bodies to the controversial quota system – purely on the basis of brute numbers have all the potential of pushing the province towards a cycle of conflict and disorder.
Given the current level of political heat and discord, the holding of the much-delayed census too has the potential to become another hot potato. But that would be a step in the right direction and help taking into account the changed provincial demography and deciding the representation in parliament and the provincial assembly.
Evading or brushing the problems under the carpet won’t serve the cause of Sindh. It is time for the political parties to take stock of the situation and move towards resolving the contradictions.
Ideally, the PPP, the MQM and the ANP – being secular and liberal forces – should be natural allies and work to promote ethnic and political harmony in the province for the economic uplift and betterment of the people. To do this, they have to raise themselves above their narrow vested interests and resolve the set of challenges thrown at them in a democratic manner. The people of Sindh deserve better and our politicians have to prove that they are worthy of their leadership.
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