Daily Times

The MQM’s ostensibly sudden decision to quit the Sindh government should not come as a surprise given the party’s political history and its relationship with the PPP, but it may have many negative consequences. On Sunday the MQM Rabita committee made the announcement at the party’s headquarters at Nine Zero, saying that it was leaving in protest against the “objectionable remarks” made by PPP co-chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in his speeches at Karsaaz on Saturday and to assembled party workers on Eidhul Azha respectively. The party also said that PPP leader in the National Assembly (NA) Khursheed Shah’s recent statement were part of the reason for its decision. Bilawal in his speech on Eidul Azha lashed out at MQM leader Altaf Hussain, saying that he should keep his namaloom afraad (unknown persons) in check, referring to news reports that routinely list namaloom afraad as the perpetrators of crimes, especially target killings. Bilawal added that if anyone was targeted at the PPP’s public meeting on October 18, he would turn to the London Metropolitan police, referring to Altaf Hussain’s current trouble in the UK over money laundering allegations. The MQM took notice of the statement and convened an emergency meeting of the Rabita Committee saying that they considered the remark a policy statement by the PPP. This should have been a warning to Bilawal that the shaky coalition faced collapse but in his speech on Saturday, the PPP co-chairman again criticised the MQM, saying it was responsible for the current state of affairs in Karachi, which would always be PPP territory. This combined with Khursheed Shah’s statement last week that muhajirs (immigrants) should abandon the term and consider themselves part of Sindh seemed to spark the MQM’s decision. The MQM joined the provincial government in April this year after months of acrimony with the PPP, which it alleged was targeting MQM workers in the ongoing Karachi operation. It also complained that Karachi was not getting its fair share of provincial resources and staged a walk out from the Sindh Assembly on Monday after Chief Minister (CM) Qaim Ali Shah began listing development projects initiated by the provincial government in Karachi.

Along with a security operation in Karachi in which several people are routinely killed every day, this development does not bode well for peace in the city if the two parties go back to slugging it out on the streets. From the sequence of events it seems clear that neither party was particularly committed to keeping the coalition intact. Bilawal’s public statements attacking the leadership of a coalition partner certainly did not seem calculated to keep the coalition together. It may be that he sees no further need for the MQM’s presence in the provincial government and seeks to challenge the party aggressively in Karachi, which seemed to be the thrust of his speech on Saturday. On the other hand the MQM historically drifts where it feels it has a better chance of power and is able to push its agenda, which includes development in Karachi and control of the city’s vast wealth. After the Sindh government passed legislation for local body elections and with those elections now scheduled for next year, it may be that the party feels it has a better chance of winning local government seats without having to accommodate the PPP. The political compromise that gave the MQM two positions in the Sindh cabinet was encouraged by the prime minister to help bring an end to Karachi’s desperate law and order crisis. However, those portfolios were not considered essential or important. With the ability to disrupt assembly proceedings and hurt the PPP in local government elections, the MQM may be seeking to extract concessions from the PPP in the run-up to the elections, since it can make life difficult for the provincial government in opposition. Whether this is the case remains to be seen, but for Sindh this development will only lead to more turf wars and hold-ups in legislation. Working the MQM back into the Sindh government may not be easy for the PPP but it may be essential for the peace of the province. *