By Amir Zia
March 31, 2014
The News
Any talks between the PPP and the MQM for the formation of a coalition government will be meaningless if it focuses only on ministries rather than a vision for tomorrow’s Sindh.
These days many leaders and lawmakers of Sindh’s two main political parties – the PPP and the MQM – seem to be overflowing with cordiality, and flashing smiles at one another. A couple of their top-guns do fire a shot or two out of habit, but overall the bitter and harsh statements have been put on hold – at least for the time being.
This newfound feeling of amity between these ‘friends today, enemies tomorrow’ type of political forces is not without reason. The central leadership of the Pakistan People’s Party has renewed efforts to bring its estranged former ally back into the fold of the Sindh provincial government despite serious reservations within its rank and file. The desire for a handshake is equally strong within an influential section of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, though many of its senior leaders and radical workers simply abhor the idea of rejoining a PPP-led coalition.
Notwithstanding their internal opposition, the two sides appear to be in the final stage of deciding modalities of the power-sharing deal if one buys the carefully leaked information to the press by their spin-wizards. This is what the pro-coalition element within these parties wants us to believe.
But in the complex and unpredictable world of politics, appearances are often deceptive and there can be ‘many a slip between the cup and the lip’.
It is not the simple question of the PPP showing a little more generosity and the MQM making its expectations a bit realistic that will bring these rural and urban forces of Sindh together again. Here the political and financial stakes are too high and wounds of the recent past too fresh; these prevent any genuine and meaningful rapprochement between the two sides. There are also no indications that these parties have done any rethinking or come up with a new progressive vision for reforms and development for their ethnically polarised and divided province.
According to a PPP stalwart, since 2008 more than 550 members of his party have been “systematically killed in Karachi – mostly by militants belonging to the MQM.” “An alliance with the MQM will only have a negative impact on the Sindh government,” he said requesting anonymity. “The government will again have to tolerate encroachment and extortion rackets…Our own party members get sucked into these crimes when they see activists belonging to a coalition partner free to make money by illegal means as happened between 2008 and 2013.”
You ask an MQM insider and he will give his list of grievances. “Even when the PPP was our ally, the killings of MQM workers continued”, he said asking not to be identified. “The MQM lost nearly 1,030 workers between 2008 and 2013 and 46 so far in 2014.” He further said, “Many MQM workers were killed by the PPP-backed Amn Committee of Lyari”. “We hold the provincial government responsible for this bloodletting and patronising criminals that made (the) life of Karachiites so miserable.”
The MQM’s main complaint remains that its “sincerity and cooperation” was not reciprocated by the PPP as urban Sindh suffered because of poor governance, corruption and soaring crime.
The leaders and workers of both sides can narrate convincing stories of greed, corruption and politics laced with crime about each other. These stories will make your heart sink and your mind lose hope about the future of Sindh and its people, who seem to have been destined to suffer mostly villains, thugs and the corrupt to govern and represent them in the name of democracy and parliament.
Are the PPP and the MQM of 2014 any different from what they were in 2008 when they shook hands with a lot of promise and hope? One harsh reality about the PPP-MQM 2008-13 coalition government was that the cadre of both parties refused to adhere to the publically stated vision of their central leadership. Instead, the PPP and MQM workers remained locked in tit-for-tat killings on Karachi’s streets under the patronage of key second and third tier leaders. They openly and clandestinely worked against one another despite being part of the same government.
The backing of criminals by these and other religious, nationalist parties resulted in an unprecedented surge in crime in Karachi, especially extortion and land encroachment. These crimes turned into multi-billion monthly rackets and even today remain the biggest curse in the lives of many Karachiites. All through this period, the PPP and the MQM played the ethnic card to defend or expand their political turfs rather than stick to their so-called lofty goals of bringing rural and urban Sindh together.
The PPP refused to budge an inch on any of the key urban demands, including the holding of local bodies elections. In fact, the provincial government tightened its grip on many of those departments and institutions which once were the domain of the city government. This is what devolution of power means under a democratic setup.
The protracted PPP-MQM talks on the new local bodies system resulted in the Sindh Peoples Local Government Ordinance in 2012, which was adopted on paper by more than a two-third majority vote in the Sindh Assembly. But it was scrapped the moment the MQM parted ways with the PPP before the 2013 general elections.
From the MQM’s point-of-view, it failed to deliver on three crucial demands of Karachiites – autonomous and effective local bodies, a modern mass transit system and restoring peace and rule of law in the city.
The PPP, which has let down its voters in smaller cities and rural Sindh because of its poor governance and rampant corruption, does not seem interested in focusing on issues concerning the large urban centres. This situation stands in stark contrast to that of Punjab where in the absence of the local governments, at least the provincial government is spearheading mega-development projects including mass transit systems in Lahore and Rawalpindi-Islamabad.
But in Sindh, the provincial government is neither leading any meaningful development project worth mentioning on its own nor allowing the local bodies system. Whatever the PPP spin doctors may say, this is the public perception in Sindh – both in urban and in rural areas.
As the Syed Qaim Ali Shah-led government is under severe criticism because of poor performance and the state of inertia in the wake of a drought and famine-like situation in Tharparkar, pressure is mounting on the PPP to bring an in-house change.
If the PPP again manages to rope in the MQM, it will help deflect pressure and criticism on the party as well as help bring a semblance of peace in Karachi for at least a brief period. And that’s all the PPP needs to fight another day under the leadership of Asif Ali Zardari, who excels in winning tactical advantages through his wheeling and dealing and does not mind losing the war.
While Zardari has his master plan, the young Bilawal Bhutto Zardari thinks differently. He wants the MQM to retract its party chief Altaf Hussain’s statements in which he apparently supported a military takeover and demanded administrative division of Sindh if it wants to join the provincial government. The MQM has not reacted to these statements, though a day later Altaf Hussain appealed to Karachiites to defend themselves against criminals by forming vigilante committees since the government won’t fulfil this responsibility.
These statements underline the fraught nature of relations between the PPP and the MQM, which are again trying to strike a deal.
Should these efforts give hope to the people of Sindh? Like the open rivalry between the two parties is damaging for the province, any alliance based on mere political expediency is also dangerous.
The PPP and the MQM are seen as natural allies not just because they represent the people of Sindh, but also because of their secular and liberal outlook. However, to deliver for the people, they need to show political maturity and raise themselves above their narrow self and political interests. Any talks for the formation of a coalition government will be meaningless if it focuses only on ministries rather than a vision for tomorrow’s Sindh. For this, these two parties have to change their act altogether. Is that too much to ask for?
March 31, 2014
The News
Any talks between the PPP and the MQM for the formation of a coalition government will be meaningless if it focuses only on ministries rather than a vision for tomorrow’s Sindh.
These days many leaders and lawmakers of Sindh’s two main political parties – the PPP and the MQM – seem to be overflowing with cordiality, and flashing smiles at one another. A couple of their top-guns do fire a shot or two out of habit, but overall the bitter and harsh statements have been put on hold – at least for the time being.
This newfound feeling of amity between these ‘friends today, enemies tomorrow’ type of political forces is not without reason. The central leadership of the Pakistan People’s Party has renewed efforts to bring its estranged former ally back into the fold of the Sindh provincial government despite serious reservations within its rank and file. The desire for a handshake is equally strong within an influential section of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, though many of its senior leaders and radical workers simply abhor the idea of rejoining a PPP-led coalition.
Notwithstanding their internal opposition, the two sides appear to be in the final stage of deciding modalities of the power-sharing deal if one buys the carefully leaked information to the press by their spin-wizards. This is what the pro-coalition element within these parties wants us to believe.
But in the complex and unpredictable world of politics, appearances are often deceptive and there can be ‘many a slip between the cup and the lip’.
It is not the simple question of the PPP showing a little more generosity and the MQM making its expectations a bit realistic that will bring these rural and urban forces of Sindh together again. Here the political and financial stakes are too high and wounds of the recent past too fresh; these prevent any genuine and meaningful rapprochement between the two sides. There are also no indications that these parties have done any rethinking or come up with a new progressive vision for reforms and development for their ethnically polarised and divided province.
According to a PPP stalwart, since 2008 more than 550 members of his party have been “systematically killed in Karachi – mostly by militants belonging to the MQM.” “An alliance with the MQM will only have a negative impact on the Sindh government,” he said requesting anonymity. “The government will again have to tolerate encroachment and extortion rackets…Our own party members get sucked into these crimes when they see activists belonging to a coalition partner free to make money by illegal means as happened between 2008 and 2013.”
You ask an MQM insider and he will give his list of grievances. “Even when the PPP was our ally, the killings of MQM workers continued”, he said asking not to be identified. “The MQM lost nearly 1,030 workers between 2008 and 2013 and 46 so far in 2014.” He further said, “Many MQM workers were killed by the PPP-backed Amn Committee of Lyari”. “We hold the provincial government responsible for this bloodletting and patronising criminals that made (the) life of Karachiites so miserable.”
The MQM’s main complaint remains that its “sincerity and cooperation” was not reciprocated by the PPP as urban Sindh suffered because of poor governance, corruption and soaring crime.
The leaders and workers of both sides can narrate convincing stories of greed, corruption and politics laced with crime about each other. These stories will make your heart sink and your mind lose hope about the future of Sindh and its people, who seem to have been destined to suffer mostly villains, thugs and the corrupt to govern and represent them in the name of democracy and parliament.
Are the PPP and the MQM of 2014 any different from what they were in 2008 when they shook hands with a lot of promise and hope? One harsh reality about the PPP-MQM 2008-13 coalition government was that the cadre of both parties refused to adhere to the publically stated vision of their central leadership. Instead, the PPP and MQM workers remained locked in tit-for-tat killings on Karachi’s streets under the patronage of key second and third tier leaders. They openly and clandestinely worked against one another despite being part of the same government.
The backing of criminals by these and other religious, nationalist parties resulted in an unprecedented surge in crime in Karachi, especially extortion and land encroachment. These crimes turned into multi-billion monthly rackets and even today remain the biggest curse in the lives of many Karachiites. All through this period, the PPP and the MQM played the ethnic card to defend or expand their political turfs rather than stick to their so-called lofty goals of bringing rural and urban Sindh together.
The PPP refused to budge an inch on any of the key urban demands, including the holding of local bodies elections. In fact, the provincial government tightened its grip on many of those departments and institutions which once were the domain of the city government. This is what devolution of power means under a democratic setup.
The protracted PPP-MQM talks on the new local bodies system resulted in the Sindh Peoples Local Government Ordinance in 2012, which was adopted on paper by more than a two-third majority vote in the Sindh Assembly. But it was scrapped the moment the MQM parted ways with the PPP before the 2013 general elections.
From the MQM’s point-of-view, it failed to deliver on three crucial demands of Karachiites – autonomous and effective local bodies, a modern mass transit system and restoring peace and rule of law in the city.
The PPP, which has let down its voters in smaller cities and rural Sindh because of its poor governance and rampant corruption, does not seem interested in focusing on issues concerning the large urban centres. This situation stands in stark contrast to that of Punjab where in the absence of the local governments, at least the provincial government is spearheading mega-development projects including mass transit systems in Lahore and Rawalpindi-Islamabad.
But in Sindh, the provincial government is neither leading any meaningful development project worth mentioning on its own nor allowing the local bodies system. Whatever the PPP spin doctors may say, this is the public perception in Sindh – both in urban and in rural areas.
As the Syed Qaim Ali Shah-led government is under severe criticism because of poor performance and the state of inertia in the wake of a drought and famine-like situation in Tharparkar, pressure is mounting on the PPP to bring an in-house change.
If the PPP again manages to rope in the MQM, it will help deflect pressure and criticism on the party as well as help bring a semblance of peace in Karachi for at least a brief period. And that’s all the PPP needs to fight another day under the leadership of Asif Ali Zardari, who excels in winning tactical advantages through his wheeling and dealing and does not mind losing the war.
While Zardari has his master plan, the young Bilawal Bhutto Zardari thinks differently. He wants the MQM to retract its party chief Altaf Hussain’s statements in which he apparently supported a military takeover and demanded administrative division of Sindh if it wants to join the provincial government. The MQM has not reacted to these statements, though a day later Altaf Hussain appealed to Karachiites to defend themselves against criminals by forming vigilante committees since the government won’t fulfil this responsibility.
These statements underline the fraught nature of relations between the PPP and the MQM, which are again trying to strike a deal.
Should these efforts give hope to the people of Sindh? Like the open rivalry between the two parties is damaging for the province, any alliance based on mere political expediency is also dangerous.
The PPP and the MQM are seen as natural allies not just because they represent the people of Sindh, but also because of their secular and liberal outlook. However, to deliver for the people, they need to show political maturity and raise themselves above their narrow self and political interests. Any talks for the formation of a coalition government will be meaningless if it focuses only on ministries rather than a vision for tomorrow’s Sindh. For this, these two parties have to change their act altogether. Is that too much to ask for?
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