The Sindh Cauldron-III Last Ditch Remedial Measures
Rather than re-hashing the mistakes made in the past that has made the uniformed Army vulnerable to any number of contrived accusations, it is time to come to grips with the present situation so that the city of Karachi (in particular) and the Province of Sindh (in general) has something of a future. Leaders of all ilk must provide outstanding leadership, rise above themselves for the greater good of the nation, providing a platform of reconciliation that will not waste time in baseless and/or negative vilification but engage in positive initiatives to draw together our deeply polarized society. Above all, we must recognize that the Pakistan Army remains the best guarantor of our freedom from Indian occupation and slavery. Increasingly it is becoming the target of Indian RAW-inspired controversy to besmirch its reputation and shake the faith that bends this country together while making the Army gun-shy of internal security flashpoints in future, thereby compromising its much-needed deterrent status in this respect. People seem to forget that the Army was requested to launch Operation Clean Up to prevent civil strife, are we confident that if the Army moves back to the barracks today civil war conditions will not re-emerge?
The Army and the MQM are now in a state of confrontation and because of that the entire Mohajir community has become bitter and aggrieved, let us first accept this fact. The second fact is that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is the majority party in the Province of Sindh even though its solid base is in the rural areas as much as the second largest political force is the MQM with its authority largely in the urban areas with swing votes in crucial urban-rural constituencies. The third fact is that the PML (N) under Mian Nawaz Sharif has emerged (like the PPP) with a large vote bank in both the Sindh urban and rural areas though the PML (N) choice of most candidates in Sindh in the last general elections was atrocious. The fourth fact is that since 1977, but more particularly since 1985, the Province has been gradually polarized because intermittently unelectable so-called “people’s representatives” (potential PML (N) defectors) had robbed the Sindh roost over which they ruled and are now scurrying for cover from criminal prosecution, as is their usual practice, to the party that wields power. The fifth fact is that no serious concerted socio-economic initiative has been undertaken in either the urban or rural areas to ameliorate the distress of the common man and this has contributed to creeping anarchy settling into society for which the civil forces of law and order are not equipped morally or materially to deal with. The last and most important fact is that a combination of bad faith and bad judgement has created a situation tailor-made for the enemy to exploit, this is now being undertaken with such ruthless vengeance by RAW that if the volcano that is brewing in Sindh explodes, 1971 in comparison will be a Sunday church picnic.
Before people die by the thousands and the images of shattered Sarajevo become a reality for the city of Karachi and other parts of Sindh, positive steps to recover from the brink of the apocalypse that threatens to destroy our entire way of life must be taken. The first stage in a step-by-step approach would be to freeze all negative statements tending to disturb the feelings of any of the affected communities. Rather, let the print and TV media only publicise positive views so that bridges of mutual confidence are built. The other day, GOC Karachi, Maj Gen Saleem Haider said, “Urdu speaking people are patriotic Pakistanis who have rendered great sacrifices not only during the Pakistan movement but also for the stability of this country”. Senator Ishtiaq Azhar, standing in for the self-exiled MQM leader, Altaf Hussain, has repeatedly expressed his confidence, barring a temporary loss thereof pre-elections, in the leadership of the Army. Despite the agony and resentment over the treatment received by them over the past two years, the MQM has on more than one occasion confirmed the Army’s pre-eminent role in the unity and integrity of the country. To create a conducive atmosphere a Caretaker but activist Governor who is respected by all sides must be immediately inducted as unfortunately Governor Mahmood Haroon is now taken to be partisan.
The best bet would be to induct a person like Air Marshal (Retd) Asghar Khan or anyone like him who fulfills all such conditions that are necessary for integrity, impartiality and authoritative respect. The person selected would command the confidence of all parties without having any narrow ambitions himself. In the subsequent stages of negotiations, the Governor can act as a moderator, leading the discussions away from acrimony to the points of confluence leading to an overall agreement.
Within the first order of priority must be a plan to disarm Karachi. If one were to go to any social function in Karachi today, the hot topic of discussion would be the subject of law and order. All are agreed that the proliferation of weapons has made the city into an armed camp. The only recourse is to take drastic measures of the extreme kind. Like in the American wild west guns should not be allowed within the city limits except in limited numbers with LEAs.
Those entering Karachi must leave their weapons at a Depository. Weapons should only be allowed for security purposes at the Governor’s, CM’s Houses and State Guest House as well as police escort for their vehicles and of visiting dignitaries such as the President, PM or any foreign VIP. Other than critical installations which must be listed and identified, banks dealing with cash and cash transit vans should be the only exceptions, but the guards, whether they be uniformed private security agency or bank’s own personnel, must be restricted to this duty only. The uniformed police must be restricted to bearing weapons only when part of joint Army and/or Ranger patrol or on the premises of the Police precincts. No policeman in mufti should carry any weapon. No un-uniformed man must be seen with a weapon in Karachi at any location, Rather than going through an exercise to hand in licenced weapons (which can become another scam), these can be stored by their owners in their own houses to give them a sense of security. Anybody bearing weapons in public, whether displayed or hidden, licenced or otherwise, should be given exemplary punishment that should be a mandatory sentence of many years. Anyone in civilian clothes brandishing weapons in any manner considered offensive should be shot on sight. A procedure must be notified for proper permission for transit of weapon from one location to another. Unless Karachi is weapon-sanitized it will be impossible to create a conducive environment for meaningful dialogue leading to a real solution that can be implemented. The dialogue must remain in session on a continuous basis till a settlement is arrived at in a prominent but secure location, possibly the Governor’s House. In the second stage senior representatives of the Army must engage in face-to-face discussions with MQM, the Army putting forth its solid evidence of MQM misdemeanour pre-Operation Clean-Up as well as the subsequent RAW infiltration of MQM’s militants that have gone underground after Operation Clean Up started. The MQM must provide the Army with evidence of excesses committed by the LEAs, possibly identifying the individuals. The principle applicable should be that the laws of the land must prevail on anyone found committing excess on another human being, that is the fundamental premise of a civilized society. Once the Army and the MQM have sorted out the issues between them, which must not include political or socio-economic matters, the third stage should be of discussions involving political and socio-economic issues between the PPP and its Allies on the one hand with the MQM and its allies on the other. However, the invitation to their respective allies must be the prerogative of either party e.g. the MQM may or may not want the PML (N) and the ANP to be part of their delegation. In this stage of negotiations the Army’s representatives may act as “Observers” only and again, the same principle of temporary isolation except for brief consultations should be applied till an agreement is reached. While General Elections in the Province of Sindh on all NA and PA seats is a must to restore the democratic principle of majority vote, the role and authority of the Local Bodies, the reformation of the police and judiciary from ab-initio, introduction of a merit-based system, the revenue collection/apportionment and other issues of concern like education, transportation, health, employment opportunities, etc, etc must be thrashed out. A comprehensive settlement must be arrived at that should reflect both good faith and a spirit of compromise on both the sides. Unacceptable demands and indispensability must be avoided in the larger communal interest in the knowledge that the “graveyard is full of indispensable people” but that the world goes on. While the agreement may not be a perfect document, it must have the spirit of compromise written all over it.
The alternative to dialogue is a devastation too awesome to contemplate. Standing astride the lifeline to the rest of Pakistan, anything affecting Karachi will have reverberation up-country, mostly of the economic kind. For Pakistan, Karachi is “vital ground”, unfortunately it is not getting the attention it should. For better or worse the fact of life is that the MQM is representative of the majority in the major urban areas of Sindh, particularly Karachi, to try and isolate this community is madness, to isolate the party from its leader, Altaf Hussain, has only added to the problems. Similarly the MQM must understand that as much as it cannot be forced to beg for its God-given democratic rights it should not seek to dictate its will on the majority represented presently by PPP. Certain excesses may have taken place, in general the Army has operated in Sindh in good faith, cleansing the Province of its militants to an extent. No Army is equipped to launch socio-economic initiatives on its own, that is the prerogative of the civilian government and any comprehensive plan that does not include such a package is doomed to failure.
One may speak with analytical logic of the mind, the feelings come out from the heart and it is not the voice of inexperience. Having lost half our country in 1971, can we survive the trauma of another self-created disaster? Unfortunately things are headed pell mell in this direction. Most of our major political leaders have given sacrifice of some kind, there may not be anyone among our present military leadership who has not risked his life for this country. Is it too much for the people of Pakistan to expect of their leaders not to destroy this country by default, simply because they lacked the courage to overcome their egos and misapprehensions that have kept them from speaking to each other?
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