Unlikely Bedfellows

By Amir Zia
Monthly Newsline
March 2015

It was the PPP’s happy-go-lucky culture where Gabol had most of his political grooming. And the PPP, even in its best of days, was never known for being a disciplined and organised party.

Becoming an MQM lawmaker is certainly not only about privileges, power and living in the fast lane. Perks aside, the party supremos and ‘embedded’ Hussain informers alike watch lawmakers a la an Orwellian Big Brother at every step. Lawmakers are supposed to adhere to a disciplinary code, fulfill their assigned duties and responsibilities and stay in touch with workers and supporters in their respective constituencies. Nabeel Gabol, who recently resigned from the National Assembly seat, hit the bulls-eye when he honestly confessed that he was “a misfit” in the MQM’s organisational structure and culture.

It was the PPP’s happy-go-lucky culture where Gabol had most of his political grooming. And the PPP, even in its best of days, was never known for being a disciplined and organised party.

But the MQM’s disciplinary code makes it mandatory for lawmakers – members of the national and provincial assemblies – to visit the party office in their respective constituencies for at least five days a week. And once at the office, they have to spend two to three hours listening to public grievances and meeting workers and residents of the area. Moreover, lawmakers also have to visit the party headquarters in Azizabad, Karachi once every week.

Members of the national and provincial assemblies are also supposed to be with workers and supporters in their moments of joy or sorrow – attending occasions such as weddings and funerals.

The other mainstream conventional political parties, dominated by the feudal and tribal lords or super-rich industrialists and businesspeople do not impose any such conditions on their elected members, many of whom are usually found in their constituencies only at the time of the elections.

Gabol joined the MQM after parting ways with the PPP ahead of the 2013 elections. Earlier, when he was a PPP MNA from Lyari, he was forced out of his traditional constituency by militants belonging to the ironically titled Lyari Aman Committee.

At that time, the committee, comprising notorious gangsters, was being supported by the then home minister Zulfikar Mirza and some other PPP stalwarts close to the former president Asif Ali Zardari. Gabol found himself being eased out of his political space with the PPP central command bent upon awarding Bilawal Bhutto Zardari a ticket for the National Assembly seat from Lyari.

Short of options and bitterly cornered by Lyari gangsters, Gabol opted for the MQM, which gave him its secure and prized NA 246 seat.

The constituency also comprised the Azizabad neighbourhood, where the MQM headquarters ‘Nine Zero’ is located.

According to MQM officials, Gabol was not able to come to the party offices for weeks, even months, due to personal reasons. “He was repeatedly asked to improve his performance… and as a result he opted to resign from the NA seat,” said a senior MQM leader. “We very much want him to stay in the party as he is also a member of our central executive council. In the past, a number of our key members have taken a backseat for personal reasons, but rejoined the mainstream once they resolved their issues.”  However, he conceded that the signs indicate Gabol will part ways with the party. “We wish him good luck,” he said.

Gabol’s decision to quit the NA seat and the MQM has not been on a bitter note. MQM leaders have refrained from levelling any charges against him and Gabol has also not made any adverse remarks against the MQM. However, Gabol’s desertion is a symbolic blow for the MQM which is keen to have prominent personalities from other communities in its ranks to give the party a multi-ethnic image.

In 2002, it awarded the NA 246 ticket from Azizabad to Azizullah Brohi. But the party asked for his resignation within a year on charges of corruption and poor performance. In the by-elections on this seat, another Sindhi-speaking individual, Nisar Panhwar was awarded a ticket. In the 2008 elections, Panhawar was given a provincial assembly seat.

Gabol, who was unable to give time to his Azizabad constituency, maintains that he aims to win back his traditional seat from Lyari where fresh political space has been created as a result of the ongoing Karachi operation against criminals and terrorists.

The recent arrest of Uzair Jan Baloch in the UAE, the kingpin among Lyari gangsters, also favours Gabol.

The PPP, which once was the undisputed political force in Lyari, has seen its support base eroding because of gangsters. In the 2013 elections, gangsters forced the PPP leadership to accept their nominees from this area for the National and Sindh assembly seats.

Gabol, who apparently realised soon after joining the MQM that he is a misfit in this middle class party, is now likely to join a more conventional political force in the coming days. But so far he is keeping all options open – i.e. he could join the PML-N, the PPP or even the PTI. “The PTI is the second biggest party in Karachi, but I have not yet finalised my next move. I will not make any decision in haste,” Gabol told Newsline.

“My only aim is to serve the people and get myself elected from the constituency of Lyari from where my father and grandfather won elections. And in Lyari, though Zardari remains unpopular, people still love the Bhuttos.”