The fifth horseman
Over the past month or so, the Army has been conducting large-scale “search” operations in various parts of Karachi. Beginning with the sudden pre-dawn encirclement of Jacob Lines and continuing with areas as diverse as Natha Khan Goth, Pak Colony, Paposhnagar, etc, the well-kept surprise raids have unearthed large quantities of arms, ammunition, stolen vehicles, wanted criminals, etc. As the Army (backed up by Rangers and Police) have become more sophisticated in their moves, so have those whom they are attempting to bring to book, as such the spectacular results of the first few operations have not been repeated on the same scale. However, there have been a sharp decline in the level of criminal activity. In contrast to the general relief coursing through the general public, for those with motivated interest to keeping Karachi aflame this has not been well received. It is not surprising, therefore, to find them using diversionary tactics and disinformation in trying to undo the Army’s success.
The one startling observation to emerge from the continuing process is that despite facing hardships, the citizenry have only raised muted protest at what would normally have been taken to be harassment and humiliation amounting to grave provocation. No one likes to live under curfew, not being allowed to go to work, bereft of the daily necessities of life, for children to be confined at home away from school, etc. In spite of the sense of persecution that the citizens were imbued with over the past two years, they seem to have taken the inconvenience with good spirit. This phenomenon is representative of the strong public perception that the Army from its hierarchy down to the common soldier are now genuinely enthused about performing the mission allotted to them without fear, favour, personal ambition or any vested motivation, i.e., the Army is sincere about restoring the rule of law in the Province of Sindh in general and the city of Karachi in particular, that Operation Clean Up is no longer directed primarily against the MQM and by extension against themselves as a whole community. This strong feeling of neutrality has permeated into the sub-conscious of the people of this city giving hope to restoration of the peaceful quality of life that they once enjoyed in Karachi. While the metamorphosis has been quite complex, the Army is itself relieved to have ceased a no-win campaign against those who had been perceived to have been their natural allies since independence in 1947. One can even perceive in the mass perception a gradual return to the admiration for a once-revered institution, albeit somewhat grudgingly still.
All this is no miracle, the simple fact is that professional soldiers at the hierarchical level in Pindi and Karachi are quite clear about their aims and objectives, as they are bereft of the element of self-glorification or the temptations of taking on the trappings of vice-royalty. Military men with pride in themselves will invariably subscribe to the principles of leadership, prime being (1) the Selection and Maintenance of Aim and (2) Fairplay and Even-handedness. With the two senior military positions in Karachi filled with like-minded men who shun social activity while their men are engaged in field duty, there are no extraneous “extra-curricular” requirements, such as rumours about corruption, nepotism, political lobbying etc to detract from the aim. The abstinence from the “pleasures” of Karachi has evoked respect and admiration for these laid-back military professionals and the men under their command. Naturally those who failed or had other interests are not happy with this development. Despite all the good work that has happened over the past month, the battle has just begun, there is a real war being waged for the hearts and minds of the populace. The change of mass attitude has alarmed those who benefited from strife, they are now desperate and are increasingly resorting to desperate means, using both the ethnic and sectarian cards to force the city back into anarchy.
On the ethnic front, the sudden interest in a Fifth Province to be carved out of Sindh is a most dangerous development, one that puts the Mohajir community on a direct collision course with the Sindhis and indeed with the rest of the country, with the Army being forced to rethink its present benign strategy. The native Sindhi welcomed the Mohajirs with open arms at the beginning of their flight from India, is there any scenario under which they would allow their urban soil to be removed from under their feet, by those whom they once gave succour? The ethnic Sindhi would rather die and be buried in that soil than part with the land they have been more than willing to share with the Mohajirs. Can anyone name any race in the world that has ceded sovereignty over their ancestral land to another race willingly? And why at this time this talk about Fifth Province when clearly the Army is leaning over backwards to be fair-minded?
Regretfully, one must come to the sad conclusion that the lonely man in self-imposed exile in London feels threatened by the general acceptance of the Army’s new posture by his flock, that without confrontation of some sort he stands to lose the battle for the hearts and minds of his people. While the Mohajirs faced persecution, they readily came together under the spell of his rhetoric, being aggrieved, they gave their unconditional allegiance to Altaf Hussain. As much as he remains the one genuine and unquestioned leader of the Mohajirs in the past decade, his self-imposed exile and his continuing status as symbol of Mohajir unity, is counter-productive to peace and harmony. Alternatives to him have been tried and failed, no pretender to that throne has succeeded (or for that matter, will for the foreseeable future). However, by opting to raise a fresh controversial issue, bound to exacerbate the lessening tensions, Altaf Hussain has chosen what is essentially a path of continued tension for his community. While this scribe is one who subscribes (in theory) to the formation of 15-18 administrative units in place of 4 provinces for better governance and more responsive elected administration, to attempt division of any Province along ethnic lines under such conditions would be suicidal to Pakistan. This unthinkable course would open a Pandora’s Box that would make Bosnia and Afghanistan seem like a Sunday School picnic in comparison.
As a leader of a people who have reposed blind trust and confidence in him, Altaf Hussain cannot condemn them to oblivion in support of an idea that is certainly not well thought out. Like it or not, the militants in MQM had taken over the party structure by the start of the Army operations in May 1992. While Operation Clean-Up could have been better directed initially in the urban areas, the fact of the matter is that criminal elements which had infiltrated the MQM hierarchy had almost obliterated the voices of moderation and reason in favour of confrontation. In a sense, Altaf Hussain had become a prisoner of what was essentially his own creation and however “parochial” their initial moves in Operation Clean-Up may have been, the Army succeeded in breaking the back of that militancy, regretfully at great cost to its reputation for fairplay. Speaking pragmatically, the Army did Altaf Hussain a back-handed favour by ridding him of a murderous, sadistic bunch of tormentors that had taken over MQM lock, stock and barrel, not the first time a Praetorian Guard has resorted to such a course in the history of nations. One unfortunate fact is that a fair percentage of the militants who went underground fall into the lap of RAW, with predictable increase in urban terrorism and sabotage.
Taking their cue from their rural experience in Sindh, where even-handedness has won the Army considerable plaudits as well as psychological separation (and lessening of fearful despondence) of the rural masses from the dacoits and the Patharidars, the Army went after the criminal elements without distinction to party, sect or ethnic background. The Army do not seek this time to supplant Altaf Hussain as a leader but to involve him with the process fully. A continuing vacuum in leadership is dangerous and the leader of the Mohajir community must shed his reluctance to come back and physically lead his flock. It is true such a course is fraught with grave personal risks for Altaf Hussain, but those who would be leaders of people have to accept that personal risks go with the territory of leadership. The whites of South Africa wanted Mandela for breakfast. He is now securely their President, as much at risk as the white standard-bearer former President de Klerk, now Mandela’s Vice President. Similarly, a great number of Israelis want Yasser Arafat’s head, so do the militant Hamas, yet Arafat is very much a presence in his own land. Though protected from his own Army by US firepower, President Aristide is back in the saddle in Haiti. Separation and distance leads to suspicion, suspicion creates its own dynamics of insecurity. Out of insecurity comes the factor of confrontation. It is for Altaf Hussain to turn the present situation to political advantage by advancing his theory of “Muttahida” rather than a “Mohajir” Qaumi Mahaz, to convince the people of Pakistan that he is a symbol of the middle class and the poor of all Pakistanis in opposition to the tyranny of feudalism. Whatever the tribulations of the Mohajir community, circumstances have been relatively kind to the personality and leadership of Altaf Hussain, but he now stands very much at a crossroads, he can either wave the wand of healing or the staff of strife. When his presence is required both in peace and turmoil, is it fair to the people that support him that he will do so from far, far away?
Altaf Hussain has to make three major compromises for his people, viz (1) heal the wounds that have divided his community into (A) and (H) (2) overcome the reservations of the present Army hierarchy about his real intentions vis-a-vis the nation and (3) come to a working understanding in Sindh Province with the majority party, the PPP, so as to cooperate in the development of all Sindhis, ethnic and rural, even though the parties may remain in political opposition. There is a sectarian monster loose in Karachi that is beginning to engulf the land in conflagration, Ground Zero is firmly in the heart of Mohajir territory. Such a destruction can have no solution, the innocent being condemned by those basically ignorant of the concept of toleration. We desperately need leaders who have the capacity to rise above themselves for the good of their people. All our major young leaders are in their early 40s, they have the capacity to move this country well into the 21st century on the strength of wisdom and commitment. That wisdom has to balance the extremes of human nature with the pragmatic interests of the nation and use their commitment for the welfare of their peoples as a strong united community of Pakistanis. A lesson can be learnt from the Quaid-e-Azam who, speaking about Pakistan and being Pakistanis said, quote “You will find in course of time the Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is a personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State” unquote. In the same analogy Punjabis, Sindhis, Balochs, Pathans or Mohajirs cannot cease to be what they are in the racial sense because that is the heritage of each individual, but they certainly can be Pakistanis first in the political sense as citizens of Pakistan.
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