1) Shahab
The PML(Q) was a party built up by the military establishment by buying the loyalties of "lotas" in order to give a humane look to its belligerent political designs. So it is understandable why the PML(Q) was siding with Musharraf on the judicial saga. However, the MQM's existence is independent of Musharraf's political aspirations and has existed before and will surely exist after he is long gone. The political activists of MQM have also come out clearly in support of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and Altaf Hussain has acknowledged the wrongdoings of the government in the present judicial crisis.
So why did the MQM take an unpopular stand on the 12th of May and exacerbated matters by not even staying neutral on the matter? Wouldn't it have been more appropriate for the MQM to ride on the popularity wave of the honorable Chief Justice who is receiving great support from all quarters of Pakistan? May I also stress here that the matter of the present judicial crisis IS a political matter so there is no sense in condemning political parties with carrying out their duty of taking the CJs matter to the public and making a "court matter" a "road matter". In any case, perhaps there is an answer to why the MQM acted the way it did.
As an urdu-speaker, I was watching the events of Karachi with great concern and dismay. I had already known that such scenes were to be expected, but as a Karachite and urdu-speaker who supports the MQM, I felt I had to break my silence after hearing the speech delivered by Altaf Hussain. I believe that closer inspection of this speech will bring forward all the answers that political analysts might be looking for.
Firstly, I was disappointed at how the MQM leader used this incident as a parallel to the events of Karbala. His reference to Yazid – I think he was pointing at the PPP – and painting himself as Imam Hussain made me realize how the MQM leader was grossly confused. Perhaps it might be a good idea to remind him the incident of Karbala so that he may put things in a more educated perspective.
Imam Hussain's struggle was against the ruler of the time who was known for his irreligious ways. Imam Hussain knew, and Yazid proved it time and again, that Yazid was not fit to become the ruler of the Islamic State and that he was elected unconstitutionally. Just like Chaudhry Iftikhar was warned against traveling to Kufah, Imam Hussain was warned. In both cases the 2 personalities went ahead with their planned trip. Imam Hussain was traveling with a small band of 70 persons who supported his cause while the Chief Justice traveled with 25-odd supporters of his cause.
In both cases the central characters were the ruling dictators namely Yazid and Musharraf. Also, in both cases, there was a desire to quell a small band of people raising their voices against the establishment in a key state. Perhaps MQM doesn't realize that by siding with Musharraf on this issue they have unwillingly become the Ibn Ziyad of this conflict. Ibn Ziyad, of course, was the brutal governor of Kufah appointed by Yazid to quell the procession and stopping it from reaching Kufah at all costs. Both Ibn Ziyad and MQM have done their jobs successfully as instructed. I suspect that just as Yazid disowned himself from this act, the government will disown itself from the acts of the Ibn Ziyads of Karachi. However, just like Yazid did, the establishment will not take any action against the MQM and will in fact pay them handsomely for their loyalty.
The MQM will find themselves on the wrong side of history very soon. They may be dancing in joy at their program being successful, but as soon as the dust will settle they will realize their folly of doing the establishment's dirty work and taking their ambition to hang on to Karachi too far. Unfortunately for Karachi, it has become the Kufah that betrayed the Imam. Jinnah Terminal has become the Karbala of Ifitkhar Chaudhry. But, just as the incidents of Karbala turned out in favor of Imam Hussain, the events of yesterday will turn in favor of the Chief Justice and this will only add to his fame. The MQM will be left with their feet in their mouths doing "matam" to wash themselves of the sin they committed on the 12 th of May, 2007.
As for the Karachiites under the MQM, they were as helpless as the Kufans under Ibn Ziyad. This is the same Karachi that went out of its way during the earthquake that shook the entire Pakistan and played an exemplary role. Today, Karachiites stand humiliated by the acts of the MQM. The CJs processions have gone peacefully in all parts of Pakistan, but in Karachi not only was he not even allowed to set foot on the city, the entire city was bathed in the blood of Karachiites in a state-managed drama.
I personally feel that the MQM did what they did because of 2 reasons: (1) They are too intoxicated in their lust to hold onto Karachi as "their territory"; (2) Aitezaz Ahsan's and the religious parties endorsement to the CJ makes them feel threatened that staying neutral on the issue would have made them lose political mileage in Karachi. While the first point can literally be reduced to one word, "ghundagardi", I feel the second point is where the MQM has made a patently flawed assumption.
Instead of feeling threatened of losing its vote bank in Karachi, the MQM could have endorsed this popular movement that has even woken up the slumber Punjab for the first time in Pakistan's history! The MQM rather than losing support in Karachi, would have earned more praise and acclaim from all of Pakistan who would have witnessed people from all political affiliations walking together hand-in-hand. The MQM could have, in a very civilized way, stamped their authority on Karachi, which is what they wanted to prove with what they did yesterday. Alas, the chance has gone begging and it will take a whole lot more to make up for it.
2) Wajahat
It is a black and bloody day for karachi today and a dark day for Pakistan. But this is not a new thing for this city as we have witnessed this before.
To give an unbiased picture, unlike others on this board, the power mongers of karachi, namely the MQM are showing their maniacal tendencies to demonstrate that they rule the roost in karachi. Combine these demigods (hear their psychotic leader from london) with the vengeful PPP and likes from Sindh and parts of Jamiat and its turns the city into a powderkeg. We have seen this before under the BB, there can be no peace in karachi with a PPP government as MQM/APMSO and PPP/PSF will never be at peace.
And on matter of the CJP, he must see that he had become a tool of political forces (Specially PPP) and has become almost farcical in his actions. His principle are correct and Musharraf should be taught a lesson in the courts, but this should have been kept in the courts and not brought onto the streets.
I know what I am talking about as I grew up in a complex in Karachi which was a pinnacle of PSF(PPP) vs MQM(APMSO) wars. My flat, Time Square in Gulshan Iqbal was taken over by PSF terrorists who were mostly Muhajir boys with a specks of sindhis who had traditionally bought into the Bhutto dream of democratic emancipation. They took over all empty flats and set up "Moorchas" on all entry/exits points. I remember the crates of guns arriving in jeeps from the plain cloth army drivers, who were then under the command of BB (Unleashing the later genocide of 92). I was one of the young boys who stood in awe when those shiny weapons were taken out of their imported boxes. THe PSF guys, usually a friendly bunch unless drunk, would make us hold the guns and we would be fascinated by the whole thing.
And then there were the wars, APMSO terrorists arriving in the middle of the night in hijacked EDHI Vans, surrounding our flats and supported by the Crescent complex flat which they had similarly occupied. I remember that my father dismantled all the beds because they would be too high when the firing started. The front gallery of our old flat was littered with bullet holes. I remember lying on the floor with my brothers and trying to act brave as the guns blazed across for hours at end. In the morning we would get up and ammi would then send us to school which was a few streets away, where I would take shells from all types of weapons littered across our flat for freinds from other areas.
I am recalling this as this was a middle class place with a middle class community, and as we speak a similar battle is taking place on a flat in Sharae faisal.
The point, the people of karachi do not deserve the murderers either from the MQM or the PPP/Jamiat. And all because this is a war of egos between a politicised ex CJP , a president hell bent on retaining power, a PPP which is avenging and trying to blow up any and every powderkeg and an MQM which has to show its master in khaki that it is still the powerhouse in karachi.
