Daily Times

The PPP and the MQM had been on somewhat estranged terms since late last year, when the Sindh based party decided to part ways with the government after scalding remarks made against it by the then Home Minister, Zulfiqar Mirza. It was a devastating retreat from the coalition as the JUI-F had also left the PPP high and dry after the sacking of Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi following the Hajj scandal. The MQM’s decision to quit the coalition was a huge blow that saw the PPP turn to the PML-Q to preserve its teetering numbers in the house. However, all that seems to be a thing of the past now as the MQM’s senior leaders, which included its Deputy Convener, Dr Farooq Sattar, met with the PPP members such as Interior Minister Rehman Malik in the Governor House in Karachi to once again embrace the federal cabinet. The MQM had been mending fences recently with Altaf Hussain’s party by continuing to sit in the treasury benches but also keeping the PPP on edge by withholding their 25 seats in the federal cabinet. The MQM made a hue and cry about the many issues facing the nation and issued an agenda that attempted to tackle a labyrinth of problems such as corruption, law and order, inflation, power shortage etc. However, staying true to the Pakistani politicians’ flair for making loud noises with little content, this nine-point agenda did not outline how the MQM planned to wipe out these problems. Now after tooting the social welfare horn, it looks like the MQM has once again decided to give the cabinet a shot — it is being claimed that the party was offered three rather important federal ministries such as ports and shipping, labour and manpower, and the provincial home department, although the PPP is remaining hush over these claims. The MQM has voiced its satisfaction with the PPP who, it says, is willing to solve the problems listed in the agenda and work towards fixing the law and order situation in Karachi. All in all, the meeting was the usual rhetoric of a jovial political coalition once again re-establishing its dominance in the numbers game.

Once the PPP had taken favour from the PML-Q, it was anticipated that the Chaudhry brothers would be paramount in helping better the ties between the PPP and the MQM. This is because, without the 25 seats belonging to the MQM, the coalition rested on very fragile foundations with the departure of the PML-N and the JUI-F.

Concerning the deteriorating situation in Karachi with each new cycle of violence, the MQM is being scrutinised and asked to account for the bloodshed in the city. It is the major coalition party in Sindh and is responsible for the welfare of the people. Karachi descends into violence at breakneck speed almost every second day, with its people asking if the MQM is part of the solution or part of the problem. We have heard one too many times that the government is working to decrease the tension in Karachi and this meeting at the Governor House is no different. Claims need be implemented but never have been. If the MQM and other political parties are serious about sorting out the Karachi situation they must make the law enforcement agencies independent of all political affiliations so that they can reign in the gunmen who have made life a living hell for the citizens. No matter whom the gunmen belong to and how far back their political linkages may go they must be held accountable. Soft-pedalling and the usual rhetoric will get Karachi nowhere. *