What happens now?
Those who make it their business to disseminate disinformation have a field day in any society where there is a perception that the normal flow of information is being restricted in any manner for whatever reasons. The present situation in Sindh is ready-made for such exploitation, the spate of rumours set off by Jam Sadiq’s medical treatment in London continues unabated. The sudden departure of Altaf Hussain of MQM, his coalition partner, for London, ostensibly for the same reasons, has further aggravated the prevalent confession about the political future in Sindh.
In one area of concern one must agree with the Establishment, a concerted mass disinformation campaign let loose on the citizen’s psyche will have long-term debilitating effect on democracy. The rumours of Jam Sadiq’s impending demise due to cancer of the pancreas or liver or both are not in good taste, paraphrasing Mark Twain these rumours seem to have been greatly exaggerated. Jam Sadiq having been laid low by hepatitis, there have to be side effects on the liver. Rumours of cancer may have been bandied about, there is no supporting medical evidence available. When conjecture is bandied about as the truth, truth loses its credibility eventually.
Despite denials by all the parties concerned, Jam’s medical condition has set off a succession struggle of sorts, with various permutations and combinations in the political leadership being discussed by participants and non-participants alike, a virtual plethora of amateur political analysts having sprouted over-night. The total dependence of the Federal Government upon the person of Jam Sadiq for extending its fiat over this crucial Province may be carrying indispensability too far. It is true that political platforms are built around special individuals but a year or so into governance there has to be a succession mechanism in any democratic environment in place, capable of sustaining constitutional rule in any eventuality. The total focus of the Coalition vis-a-vis Jam Sadiq speaks extremely highly of his political ability, it also exposes a political bankruptcy that is dangerous for continued representative rule in the Province. With a strong mass perception that the rule of law has been subverted by those who are pledged to uphold the law, the sudden erosion of confidence in the continued stability of the Sindh Government in Jam Sadiq’s absence has raised question marks about the political future of Sindh. The efforts of the acting CM notwithstanding, Sindh is a leaderless Province today. One may even equate the situation with the twilight of the Moghuls, where the Moghul rulers of India eventually held sway over the city of Delhi only. At the same time, the God-less are exploiting authority in Jam Sadiq’s absence for their own individual benefit, minions have a universal tendency to go berserk when the head honcho is away from the ranch.
The powers-that-be have reacted to all this by blaming the disinformation on vested interests, the Federal Government knows that the collapse of their bastion in Sindh will put them at an inherent disadvantage in continued rule at the Centre, conceivably there could be a paralysis of authority as happened during the Ms Benazir regime as two parallel democratic entities in Islamabad and Lahore use their respective constitutional powers to impose their will to suit their own purposes.
The Jam’s medical complications may have made the situation further murky, the Sindh Government was under pressure because of law and order problems, exacerbated because of the excesses on the print media by persons known or suspected. Given provocation, the newspapers and magazines targeted the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) of the Sindh Police. It is not the first time in the world that a section of a law-enforcement agency is thus subjected to wholesale vituperation. Unfortunately for the Sindh Police, elements of the CIA seem to have brought this upon themselves. There can be no erosion of authority till authority is misused selectively. The CIA has been, in conjunction with others, have played an effective role in curbing urban crime in Karachi, unfortunately there is a strong perception that a segment of the CIA is exploiting the situation for individual personal benefit. As the Federal law enforcement agencies are embarked on a crusade of sorts to stamp out malfeasance, a clash of interests is increasingly imminent.
Contrary to general belief, the Sindh Police has the potential of being an effective law enforcement mechanism. Its much maligned personnel operate under extreme adverse political and administrative conditions in both urban and rural areas. Some of the finest DIGs and SSPs belong to the Sindh Police. With political appointees proliferating, there has been a steady deterioration of professionalism over the years as the new recruitment is badly tinged with nepotism and favouritism, even parochial tendencies are now creeping into the selection procedures. The Sindh Police is badly undermanned and atrociously ill-equipped for the myriad number of tasks allotted to it, mostly for political purposes or expediency. Properly reorganised and re-structured by professionals having no vested interest and focussed on their prime mission, eradication of crime, the capability of the Police Force will increase manifold, mainly in the urban areas. In the rural areas the Sindh Police’s effectiveness has been irreparably compromised because the mass psychological fear of the dacoits exceeds their administrative authority by far, particularly since the dacoits seem to have political connections. Since the families of policemen live in constant fear of retribution, one does not see them being effective in any manner except engaging average criminal activity. To deal with the dacoit menace, a new Ranger Force has been created which does not take help from the local police unless absolutely necessary and by denying them information has thus become relatively effective. That by itself is a sad commentary on the process of civilian authority in the Province that Federal law enforcement agencies do not accept the credibility or the impartiality of their Provincial counterparts. The Sindh Police in the rural areas needs total overhauling.
Over the past six months, the major crime-busters have been the Army Investigation Teams helped by the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) in which the Police contribution has tended to fade away. Operating on their own hard information, a mixture of Military Intelligence (MI) officials, Special Service Group (SSG) personnel assisted by Rangers and a bunch of committed citizens led by Haji Nazim and Jameel Yousuf, have literally broken the back of organised kidnapping and car snatching gangs in Karachi. Turning increasingly to high-tech methods, there has been a 100-fold improvement in the security of the common citizens. Considering these positive urban statistics, the feeling of insecurity that is endemic and prevailing is extremely surprising and needs addressing. It tantamounts to a vote of no confidence in those who are pledged to provide us security. The Rangers fanning out all over the city of Karachi recently have added to the apprehension, an undercurrent of nervousness is all-pervasive. While administratively the Federal Government has taken steps, politically we are in a limbo and that is not surprising given that the Coop scandal has eroded the credibility of the Federal Government to a significant extent.
The COAS has gone on record as saying that Martial Law will not be imposed, that may be comforting for democracy but it can be also taken as an open licence for criminally motivated persons to go berserk. We have a Catch-22 problem here, conscience versus the concept of duty. Justice has been so subverted that genuine evidence of malfeasance by perpetrators is disbelieved by the general public, on the other hand is the fact that some of the perpetrators of crime are themselves in government, thereby testing the credibility of the actions of the law enforcement agencies. One may see no evil, hear no evil and do no evil, but the edifice of the nation crumbling around us even while we hold the paper of the Constitution aloft and our heads in the ground, Ostrich-like, is testing dame Fortune too far. No one asks anyone to subvert the Constitution but certainly one must take into account that the same Constitution that we are pledged to uphold to the peril of our lives is being subverted at will for benefit of few individuals. When common justice is denied to the individuals of the nation, then what duty is really binding on those who are pledged to uphold the law, to the nation or to the individual? Martial Law has been much maligned in this country because it has been used for individual benefit and to sustain individual rule, if it had really been used for the public good, we would have reaped the benefits of institutionalized democracy in the long run.
Those who matter in the hierarchy should kindly take cognisance of the reports submitted by their own agencies about what is happening in this country, they may like to give quiet advice in the right quarters that will have the effect of restraining malfeasance as well as take away the impression that they have themselves become collaborators to the perpetrating of crime. In a land where the media has virtually become hunted at the hands of the lawless, to whom does one turn to for justice? Justice is supposed to be blind, but not blinded.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment