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Round and round we go, a never ending cycle in which the people of Karachi and consequently the people of Pakistan are being subjected to. It’s not simply the violence in Karachi or the chronic load-shedding, but in essence the political somersaults that are taking place every month or so.
As we all have heard by now the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has decided to ‘rejoin’ the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led government (as if there was any doubt that they had left the corridors of power in the first place) after the scrapping of the Commissionerate System in first Karachi and Hyderabad and finally the entire Sindh province.
The issue of the Commissionerate System and whether it was viable led to a division among the political parties in Sindh, with the PPP, Awami National Party (ANP) and various nationalist parties in support of it. Whereas the MQM firmly in opposition to the system. In this battle of wills, it seems that the PPP has once again blinked and given into the demands of its coalition partner. The MQM vehemently opposed the old system and was in favor of the Local Government Ordinance 2001 which was introduced by their former ally General Pervez Musharraf.
The Commissionerate System or Local Government Ordinance 1979 along with the Police Act 1861 would have divided Karachi into five districts headed by one commissioner. Each district in turn would also have an administrative head along with a deputy commissioner. Needless to say a reversion to the old system would have an effect on the turf war that is behind the violence that is plaguing Karachi.
The MQM is opposed to the Commissionerate System because it feels that it would be a reversion to an out of date colonial era administrative system that our former British colonisers themselves have moved on from. Which is a valid point, but then again we do have a knack of going one step forward and two steps backwards in our political theatre.
The PPP support and still believe in the Commissionerate System, according to Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon, but have reinstated the Local Body System to “save the life of the common man”. One doesn’t know whether this will be the last political system to be overhauled in Sindh or whether more changes are on the way. Any democratic system of government, whether it’s on the federal or provincial level, needs to naturally progress and take strong roots within that area so that it can take effect as a viable administrative system. The system will rot if you pull it out from the roots again and again and then expect it produce rich fruit. These are not clothes that we are dealing with, where you can discard them and then put on a new pair to wear.
Does this mean that that the Kabuki Theater is finished, will there be finally peace in Karachi? Was all the blood that has been shed in the past year, which according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan is the deadliest since the blood fest of 90s, because of a governance system? Many people are asking these questions and there aren’t that many answers forthcoming.
Only a little while ago MQM chief Altaf Hussain declared that “the destruction of the government has begun” calling it “worse than any despotism” and now has apparently discussed with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that his party wishes to rejoin the coalition government. The “Muttahida Qalabazi Movement” is what Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan once called them, but then that was also before the PML-N wanted to create a ‘Grand Alliance’ against the PPP government.
Getting around this labyrinth causes a headache for those who are simply trying to grasp as to what is really going on. No one is more eager to find out then the people of Pakistan themselves. We just celebrated our 64th Independence Day the other day where people were trying to bask in one day of celebratory mood away from the tensions and stress of daily politics. It was very heartening to know that despite the weight of problems that turned peoples lives topsy-turvy, the people of Karachi and Pakistan have not completely lost heart. They have not completely lost their faith in a better a future for their children and their children’s children.
Such patriotic fervor should be the engine that drives our politicians and rulers, not simple point scoring or short term political gain in a city or now we are hearing new provinces. Political vision, a penchant for hard work and a determined resolve have been shortcomings for nearly all of our leaders. The people of Karachi know this just as well as anyone in Pakistan. If this can be rectified in anyway Karachiites will be the first people to stand up among the masses of Pakistan and they will in turn lead the way for the rest of the nation to emulate.
