The events of this week have succeeded in drawing the attention of people away from some issues that were being termed as the ‘real issues and challenges’ for the new government. Twice, the former Chief Minister of Sindh, Ghulam Arbab Rahim was manhandled in an undignified manner. This event was followed by manhandling of Sher Afgan Niazi, the self-proclaimed supporter of a dictator. Sher Afgan Niazi has justified all unconstitutional actions of Musharraf and not hesitated in issuing contemptuous statements against the judiciary during the judicial crises. He probably knew at the time what was forthcoming and was therefore was not afraid of the wrath of justice and considered himself above the rule of law and as it turned out he went away with it. However, he found himself being punished in a very different way when he was held up for a long period of time in a lawyer’s chambers in Lahore and was thrashed with shoes and glass when he made his way out.
As if this was not enough to make headlines and provide talk shows with a topic for the week, another incident took place in a city, which never lags behind when it comes to violence and violence related casualties--Karachi. Several innocent lives were lost. Astonishingly, the explanation of the MQM regarding the issue is next to a self-indicting statement. Allegedly, lawyers of MQM were ‘attacked’ by other lawyers, when they were ‘peacefully protesting’ outside the bar. This is not the end of story though. The lawyers (non-MQM) allegedly went on to burn more than 50 vehicles and took around a dozen lives. This explanation is not tenable and the opposite explanation presented by the lawyers is much more plausible. According to this version, lawyers stopped the MQM lawyers from entering the bar premises as they were holding a meeting inside and the presence of MQM lawyers who were chanting slogans in favour of Sher Afgan Niazi and ‘protesting his mishandling’, could have led to some unwarranted clashes. However this denial of entry infuriated the MQM lawyers who unleashed a wave of violence on not only the lawyers but the city of Karachi and its habitants. Just when people had thought that the good atmosphere prevailing within the ranks of MQM and PPP had ensured a peaceful future of Karachi for some time, we were reminded of the menace that is perhaps beyond the control of even leaders who sit far away and script party politics from abroad.
Had these three incidents been separated by a period of time, it would have been imaginable that they were not related at all. However, their proximity in time as well as nexus connecting them, especially the thrashing of Sher Afgan Niazi and the ‘protest’ by MQM lawyers, suggests that perhaps there is a hidden hand involved in some if not all of them, which wanted to extract some leverage out of them. Perhaps the involvement of lawyers in two of the incidents is an indicator of what was the intended effect. It is pertinent to mention that during the thrashing of Sher Afgan Niazi, he was roughed up by people in plain clothes as well, who sabotaged even the ambulance that was supposed to rescue him.
Sher Afgan Niazir has stated that the judiciary cannot be restored and Musharraf has responded to the violence by restraining lawyers from disturbing peace. Whether these statement were mere coincidence or issued in good faith and without any relation to the incidents is anyone’s guess. One guess can be that perhaps the issue of restoration of judges is being sidetracked by such incidents. Whether it is true or not only time will tell.
The problem is that since this country is best known for conspiracies and state within state, one cannot but ignore the broader circumstances of every incident which is intended to produce a specific result.
Only an independent inquiry into these issues will let us know the true culprits and whether the incidents were engineered to a certain degree or not. Thanks to the mushroom growth of electronic media, just as Benazir Bhutto’s assassination was made clear and the official version of the cause of her death rebutted through use of video footage, it is easy to identify those involved in these incidents as well conduction of an enquiry headed by an impartial tribunal is likely to produce genuine results. However, many would be tempted to bury the issue under the carpet just like the May 12 incident in Karachi was buried.
The real challenge for the new government would be to open a new chapter of accountability, even if it means that some supporters of the PPP, which is leading the government, are found involved in Ghulam Arbab Rahim’s thrashing. The credit would nevertheless go to PPP, if it were to happen. PPP would have opened a new chapter of accountability even if it means disciplining its own die hard supporters. A line has to be drawn between what can and what cannot be acceptable behaviour in politics and party discipline must be enforced without any regard to any other factor. Politics of violence must be abandoned once and for all. MQM must seek to dispel the negative image that has surrounded it over the years. Otherwise it is inevitable that it will land itself into trouble one day or the other as long as it continues to care little about human rights and resorts to violent measures. After all, prayers of its victims can be answered when the One who matters decides that enough is enough.
As if this was not enough to make headlines and provide talk shows with a topic for the week, another incident took place in a city, which never lags behind when it comes to violence and violence related casualties--Karachi. Several innocent lives were lost. Astonishingly, the explanation of the MQM regarding the issue is next to a self-indicting statement. Allegedly, lawyers of MQM were ‘attacked’ by other lawyers, when they were ‘peacefully protesting’ outside the bar. This is not the end of story though. The lawyers (non-MQM) allegedly went on to burn more than 50 vehicles and took around a dozen lives. This explanation is not tenable and the opposite explanation presented by the lawyers is much more plausible. According to this version, lawyers stopped the MQM lawyers from entering the bar premises as they were holding a meeting inside and the presence of MQM lawyers who were chanting slogans in favour of Sher Afgan Niazi and ‘protesting his mishandling’, could have led to some unwarranted clashes. However this denial of entry infuriated the MQM lawyers who unleashed a wave of violence on not only the lawyers but the city of Karachi and its habitants. Just when people had thought that the good atmosphere prevailing within the ranks of MQM and PPP had ensured a peaceful future of Karachi for some time, we were reminded of the menace that is perhaps beyond the control of even leaders who sit far away and script party politics from abroad.
Had these three incidents been separated by a period of time, it would have been imaginable that they were not related at all. However, their proximity in time as well as nexus connecting them, especially the thrashing of Sher Afgan Niazi and the ‘protest’ by MQM lawyers, suggests that perhaps there is a hidden hand involved in some if not all of them, which wanted to extract some leverage out of them. Perhaps the involvement of lawyers in two of the incidents is an indicator of what was the intended effect. It is pertinent to mention that during the thrashing of Sher Afgan Niazi, he was roughed up by people in plain clothes as well, who sabotaged even the ambulance that was supposed to rescue him.
Sher Afgan Niazir has stated that the judiciary cannot be restored and Musharraf has responded to the violence by restraining lawyers from disturbing peace. Whether these statement were mere coincidence or issued in good faith and without any relation to the incidents is anyone’s guess. One guess can be that perhaps the issue of restoration of judges is being sidetracked by such incidents. Whether it is true or not only time will tell.
The problem is that since this country is best known for conspiracies and state within state, one cannot but ignore the broader circumstances of every incident which is intended to produce a specific result.
Only an independent inquiry into these issues will let us know the true culprits and whether the incidents were engineered to a certain degree or not. Thanks to the mushroom growth of electronic media, just as Benazir Bhutto’s assassination was made clear and the official version of the cause of her death rebutted through use of video footage, it is easy to identify those involved in these incidents as well conduction of an enquiry headed by an impartial tribunal is likely to produce genuine results. However, many would be tempted to bury the issue under the carpet just like the May 12 incident in Karachi was buried.
The real challenge for the new government would be to open a new chapter of accountability, even if it means that some supporters of the PPP, which is leading the government, are found involved in Ghulam Arbab Rahim’s thrashing. The credit would nevertheless go to PPP, if it were to happen. PPP would have opened a new chapter of accountability even if it means disciplining its own die hard supporters. A line has to be drawn between what can and what cannot be acceptable behaviour in politics and party discipline must be enforced without any regard to any other factor. Politics of violence must be abandoned once and for all. MQM must seek to dispel the negative image that has surrounded it over the years. Otherwise it is inevitable that it will land itself into trouble one day or the other as long as it continues to care little about human rights and resorts to violent measures. After all, prayers of its victims can be answered when the One who matters decides that enough is enough.
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