Lahori paa jee
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The May 12 carnage
There are many images that linger from that terrible day of May 12 but two stand out. One is of gunmen on the rampage, shooting with intent to kill, brutalising those already injured and burning whatever they could get their hands on. And, the second is of General Musharraf, not embarrassed or contrite at what his government had allowed to happen in Karachi but exulting at how 'anti judiciary' forces, meaning the chief justice, had been thwarted.
Anyone else in his position would have cancelled the state sponsored gathering in Islamabad to honour the dead of Karachi, but not him. Anyone else in his position would have hung his head in shame at what his allies had inflicted on the innocent citizens of Karachi, but not him. Anyone else sitting in the presidency would have been devastated by the fact that the provincial government rather than stop the carnage actually encouraged it to take place, but not him.
He is now in that special cuckoo land where the twenty odd thousand that had been cajoled and transported at great expense from all parts of the country for the Islamabad 'mela' seem like half a million. It is a world of make believe where the disinterested crowd wandering around like headless chicken seems the definitive answer to the spontaneous outpouring of support that the chief justice has received. And it is that state of denial where, the violent tactics of the MQM are invisible to him while they are obvious to everyone else in the country.
Unfortunately, by these tactics, General Musharraf has exposed the huge fault line of ethnicity that divides this country. Not all Urdu-speaking people are supporters of the MQM but the way this party has taken up the gun to defend him, has brought to the fore his own ethnic origin. He has now squarely identified himself, whether by default or design, as a mohajir. People may be afraid to talk about it on the air or write about it in print but it is now the proverbial elephant in the room. Everyone knows it is there and yet there is public silence on it.
This has huge ramifications because as the self-declared president of Pakistan and also as a never retiring chief of army staff he is supposed to be above any kind of parochial or political considerations. Politics had become a part of him since he chose to take over the country but now the parochial has also taken over. This cannot be good for the country or the army. He is clearly way past his sell by date and the sooner he quits the better.
The May 12 happenings have once again shown to the people of Pakistan the real face of the party. In recent times, it had acquired a certain degree of respectability and some very astute people had started to eulogise its organisational ability and its liberal outlook. The killer gangs that were unleashed last Saturday have exposed how thin this veneer of decency was. It also makes one re-evaluate the stories that have been circulating ever since the party came into power. Stories of extortion, intimidation, and corruption, and of rigging of elections through fear. After the performance of the party on May 12, these seem not only plausible but positively understated.
The MQM has twice evoked a violent reaction by the state. Just a few short years after its inception, it was subjected to a military action in 1992. This was unleashed not by the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but by the army chief, General Asif Nawaz. It was at this time that Altaf Hussain quit the country and settled permanently in England. The army action exposed many a torture cell and brought before the public the tactics employed by the party but it was then allowed to peter out because the army and the politicians did not agree on its direction.
The second operation against the MQM took place during the tenure of Benazir Bhutto. This was essentially a police action and took out many hardened characters associated with the party. It was a very successful operation and the party was clearly on the back foot. Peace was restored to Karachi and the state for once seemed in ascendance in that city.
However, once Benazir was removed, the party staged a comeback and started to display many of the old tactics that had defined it since day one. A number of police and civil officers involved with the operation against the party were hunted down and killed. Others chose to run or hide. This clearly demonstrated to everyone that the leopard had not changed its spots. It was also during this time that Shahid Hamid, an upright DMG officer was killed.
It was only after General Musharraf took over that the MQM again started to come to the fore and even acquire a patina of respectability. The General himself went to see its party chief in London. This was surreal because several cases had been registered against Mr Hussain, including that of torturing a serving army officer. An MQM stalwart was later named Sindh governor who reportedly had several criminal cases registered against him - all of which were later dropped.
Under the General's tutelage the party not only acquired power in Sindh but started to spread its wings to other parts of the country. I had written in this column some months ago that serving corp commanders were interviewing potential candidates of the MQM in Punjab. It also started to become transparent, and I wrote about it, that as General Musharraf is moving towards a time where he may shed his uniform, he is looking towards the MQM as a potential source of permanent support based on his ethnicity. Some people had also whispered to me that Altaf Hussain was not well and likely to step aside for Musharraf but this was probably far-fetched.
The Musharraf-MQM link that became visible on May 12 has become another millstone around the General's neck. Some people are even saying that this is as serious a blunder as taking action against the chief justice on March 9. By that action he had lost the intelligentsia and the civil society. Now he also lost the bazaar. The spontaneous strike all over the country on May 14 is an indication of that.
It is all winding down for the General and at a bewildering rate. The only decent option for him is to hold a free and fair election with the exiled leaders back in the country and then leave. It is the only good deed left in him but will he? Not if the past is any indication.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=56385
There are many images that linger from that terrible day of May 12 but two stand out. One is of gunmen on the rampage, shooting with intent to kill, brutalising those already injured and burning whatever they could get their hands on. And, the second is of General Musharraf, not embarrassed or contrite at what his government had allowed to happen in Karachi but exulting at how 'anti judiciary' forces, meaning the chief justice, had been thwarted.
Anyone else in his position would have cancelled the state sponsored gathering in Islamabad to honour the dead of Karachi, but not him. Anyone else in his position would have hung his head in shame at what his allies had inflicted on the innocent citizens of Karachi, but not him. Anyone else sitting in the presidency would have been devastated by the fact that the provincial government rather than stop the carnage actually encouraged it to take place, but not him.
He is now in that special cuckoo land where the twenty odd thousand that had been cajoled and transported at great expense from all parts of the country for the Islamabad 'mela' seem like half a million. It is a world of make believe where the disinterested crowd wandering around like headless chicken seems the definitive answer to the spontaneous outpouring of support that the chief justice has received. And it is that state of denial where, the violent tactics of the MQM are invisible to him while they are obvious to everyone else in the country.
Unfortunately, by these tactics, General Musharraf has exposed the huge fault line of ethnicity that divides this country. Not all Urdu-speaking people are supporters of the MQM but the way this party has taken up the gun to defend him, has brought to the fore his own ethnic origin. He has now squarely identified himself, whether by default or design, as a mohajir. People may be afraid to talk about it on the air or write about it in print but it is now the proverbial elephant in the room. Everyone knows it is there and yet there is public silence on it.
This has huge ramifications because as the self-declared president of Pakistan and also as a never retiring chief of army staff he is supposed to be above any kind of parochial or political considerations. Politics had become a part of him since he chose to take over the country but now the parochial has also taken over. This cannot be good for the country or the army. He is clearly way past his sell by date and the sooner he quits the better.
The May 12 happenings have once again shown to the people of Pakistan the real face of the party. In recent times, it had acquired a certain degree of respectability and some very astute people had started to eulogise its organisational ability and its liberal outlook. The killer gangs that were unleashed last Saturday have exposed how thin this veneer of decency was. It also makes one re-evaluate the stories that have been circulating ever since the party came into power. Stories of extortion, intimidation, and corruption, and of rigging of elections through fear. After the performance of the party on May 12, these seem not only plausible but positively understated.
The MQM has twice evoked a violent reaction by the state. Just a few short years after its inception, it was subjected to a military action in 1992. This was unleashed not by the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but by the army chief, General Asif Nawaz. It was at this time that Altaf Hussain quit the country and settled permanently in England. The army action exposed many a torture cell and brought before the public the tactics employed by the party but it was then allowed to peter out because the army and the politicians did not agree on its direction.
The second operation against the MQM took place during the tenure of Benazir Bhutto. This was essentially a police action and took out many hardened characters associated with the party. It was a very successful operation and the party was clearly on the back foot. Peace was restored to Karachi and the state for once seemed in ascendance in that city.
However, once Benazir was removed, the party staged a comeback and started to display many of the old tactics that had defined it since day one. A number of police and civil officers involved with the operation against the party were hunted down and killed. Others chose to run or hide. This clearly demonstrated to everyone that the leopard had not changed its spots. It was also during this time that Shahid Hamid, an upright DMG officer was killed.
It was only after General Musharraf took over that the MQM again started to come to the fore and even acquire a patina of respectability. The General himself went to see its party chief in London. This was surreal because several cases had been registered against Mr Hussain, including that of torturing a serving army officer. An MQM stalwart was later named Sindh governor who reportedly had several criminal cases registered against him - all of which were later dropped.
Under the General's tutelage the party not only acquired power in Sindh but started to spread its wings to other parts of the country. I had written in this column some months ago that serving corp commanders were interviewing potential candidates of the MQM in Punjab. It also started to become transparent, and I wrote about it, that as General Musharraf is moving towards a time where he may shed his uniform, he is looking towards the MQM as a potential source of permanent support based on his ethnicity. Some people had also whispered to me that Altaf Hussain was not well and likely to step aside for Musharraf but this was probably far-fetched.
The Musharraf-MQM link that became visible on May 12 has become another millstone around the General's neck. Some people are even saying that this is as serious a blunder as taking action against the chief justice on March 9. By that action he had lost the intelligentsia and the civil society. Now he also lost the bazaar. The spontaneous strike all over the country on May 14 is an indication of that.
It is all winding down for the General and at a bewildering rate. The only decent option for him is to hold a free and fair election with the exiled leaders back in the country and then leave. It is the only good deed left in him but will he? Not if the past is any indication.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=56385
