Playing foul in Karachi
Ghazi Salahuddin
There was one more strike in Karachi on Thursday. It was, once again, called by the MQM, this time to protest against the amendment in the Sindh Local Government Ordinance (SLGO), passed by the Sindh Assembly. But what made it different at the beginning was the call from the MQM, from its bitter enemies, particularly from the Haqiqi faction, its mainstream rivals and the leading opposition parties found justification in the MQM protest against the move to decentralise the city’s municipal government and, in the process, enhance bureaucratic control over the municipal affairs. In that sense, the strike had larger sympathy at the popular level than the MQM had been able to muster in the recent past. That the strike itself was mercifully not very violent and it only caused marginally more disruptions in the civic life is not the point. Its significance lay in the message that it conveyed vis-a-vis the Pakistan People’s Party’s ability to comprehend its future role and prospects in the city. What baffled the mind is that the SLGO amendment has come at a time when the present government seemed poised to make some gains after its energetic, even ferocious, attempts to restore law and order in the city. After a long time, things were beginning to look up in Karachi and though the focus has certainly shifted to the aftermath of the Supreme Court verdict in the judges’ case, the revival of peace in Karachi should have some impact, favourable to the PPP, on the national scene. How the government has handled the Karachi situation may have gone a long way in discouraging a show of strength by the opposition in Lahore or, in the country, through mobilisation of popular resistance. Whether it is relevant in the present context or not, repeated provocations in Lahore, ranging from the death of a prominent PPP activist arrested in connection with explosions in Imran Khan’s hospital, have failed to stir any major trouble. Even though suggestions have now been made by the leaders of the Sindh government that they would be willing to discuss the SLGO amendment with other parties, the manner in which the bill was presented and then processed shows a total lack of sensitivity on how the citizens of Karachi would interpret it or how it could be exploited by opposition political parties and groups. It is, evidently, born of narrow and short-term interests. Indeed, other moves made in the past to tinker with the municipal administration of Karachi had, also, been of a partisan nature given that no lasting gains were possible on the ground. Consequently, the quality of civic amenities and local administration has continued to suffer and there is no hope that the new arrangement can make any amends. The law can only reap more disruptions and discord. Why should the PPP inspire this controversy at a time, as I have noted, when the opportunity to win friends in Karachi seemed so promising? Are there some elements in the party which would not countenance such an initiative? Has the PPP decided to effectively placate the constituency that had recently belonged to the MQM because it considers the prospects of gaining a foothold in this territory politically valuable to its ‘Shaik of show’ of dedication designed to bolster support in other constituencies? I am not sure if these and similar questions are valid in a situation which, in the first place, demands a practical and multi-dimensional analysis. After all, what is Karachi like at the present time, in the wake of harsh suppression of the MQM militancy and what further measures, by way of healing old wounds, would secure normal social tranquillity in a traumatised community? To say it mildly, that though there were reluctant to ‘say it openly,’ the people in Karachi were quite impressed by the law and order situation and there were obvious indications of the collapse of the reign of terror. In this environment, there is this threat of new tensions and renewed polarisation along urban and rural or the ethnic divide after the passage of the SLGO amendment. Though nominally we should look closely at the amendment and analyse its salient features to judge the intentions of the government, what is relevant in the present discourse is how it has been perceived and how it has been sold to the people. The general impression is that the new municipal system will remain hostile to the bureaucracy. To begin with, PPP’s own leaders from Karachi were known to have been alarmed by its contents and though their protest was quickly hushed up by the party bosses, there is no doubt about reservations that have been expressed by those PPP leaders who have to carve out their political future in a city teeming with mistrust and suspicions. Then, the sudden unity among the opposition groups in opposing the amendment, providing a new opening to the MQM, counters by any stretch of imagination as been as a boon that the PPP may have desired. Obviously, the party that would speak for and ultimately be the case would be the MQM as it would naturally be supporting in its criticism. Castigating the bill before it became law, Dr Farooq Sattar called it ‘a broad daylight murder of Karachiites’ municipal rights’. In his view, it was a ‘conspiracy to ruin the status of KMC and the citizens of Karachi’. By and large, public opinion tended to be evolving along these lines. And once again, the PPP was unable to nail its formidable resources to use by generating a rational public debate on this issue and by projecting its own point of view with conviction and authority. No political move can bear fruit if it is not credible in terms of how the affected people perceive their interests. Perhaps it is not too late for the PPP to resort to some crisis management and initiate an open debate on how the municipal administration of Karachi should be redesigned, in keeping with the party’s own manifesto and the specific conditions available in the city. Fortunately, Karachi is beginning to breathe again in terms of social and communal activities. While the excitement generated by the World Cup had suggested that for the city, there have recently been a spurt of functions in the colleges to promote, even if at a restricted level, a sense of popular participation in cultural activities. I had a mind to write at some length on the hectic round of extra-curricular activities in many colleges in Karachi, ranging from debates to musical shows. I was present at some of these functions and was impressed by the enthusiasm of the students, untainted by any factional bickering. You could not have expected to see this happening even a few months ago. In spite of the beliefs that on the elected unions, a ban which is not defensive. The difficulties, bodies of the students were able to work together to stage functions set for instance, the NED Engineering University, usually a scene of confrontation and conflict, was able to hold a series of functions without any disturbance. Successful functions were held in a number of women’s colleges in such otherwise troubled areas as Nazimabad. That the path taken of an intellectual exploration of the making of Karachi’s present travails is possible may have arrived is indicated by an excellent publication I am referring to the two volumes of Urdu book series Aaj on Karachi. It is called Karachi ki kahani and the writing that have been collected at Ajmal Kamal provide a remarkable perspective to Karachi’s past and present. Never before had Karachi been interpreted with such depth and understanding and in Urdu through a Karachiite selection of translations and original writings. Since this is not a book review, I am only referring to Aaj to underline the fact that thinkers and creative writers can also make a major contribution to the task of understanding Karachi and laying the conceptual foundation of a plural and civilised society in the city. But the problem with our leading politicians is that they are averse to drawing any inspiration from the thoughts of our wise men and experts who are involved in community development and in social renovation. Otherwise, they would not have rushed with the SLGO amendment in this fashion. And now that they have done so, what chances do they think they have in protecting their own long-term interests in Karachi?
