Bitter fruits of controversial law

On Jan. 26, the ruthless manner in which the Sindh Police handled the MQM-P’s protest outside the Chief Minister House renewed fears of plunging Karachi back into the abyss of political and ethnic violence which once used to be the norm here.

The police resorted to baton charge and heavy teargas shelling on the MQM-P’s peaceful protesters when they tried to assemble outside the CM House to protest against the new local bodies law. The police action resulted in the alleged death of at least one protester and injured many more.

The widespread media coverage and condemnations forced the Sindh Government to distance itself from the police action as its ministers said that the operation was launched without any authorization from the provincial leadership.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who had been showing an inflexible attitude on the controversial local bodies law, was quick to get into the firefighting mood as he called the MQM leadership to defuse tensions.

The PPP, after dragging its feet for weeks over the issue, was also quick to accept many of the demands of the Jamaat-e-Islami which was holding a sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly since December 31 against the local bodies law.

However, the controversy over the local bodies law has all the potential to ignite flames of political and even ethnic violence in the city as some of the hardliners in both the urban and rural areas of Sindh hardened their stance over the issue.

After the death of the MQM-P activist, the police too were on the backfoot. Police investigators claimed that the mobile phone data of the deceased MQM-P activist Aslam showed that he was present at the Karachi Press Club when the police were dispersing protesters outside the CM House.

The pressure to defuse the situation multiplied on the Sindh Government because Karachi is hosting the high-profile Pakistan Super League (PSL) in which several foreign players are also participating.

The government had to transport players to the National Stadium, which would have been impossible if the MQM-P protestors had been holding their rally near their hotel, or the Jamaat-e-Islami blocking roads in other parts of the city.

The situation looked like getting out of hand which had to be controlled. “It was a matter of players’ security,” the government officials said while defending the initial reaction of the police.

The PPP minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Waqar Mehdi arrived at the sit-in of Jamat-e-Islami. The PPP leaders said that an agreement was accorded between the two parties giving more powers to the mayor.

The JI said that the PPP promised to meet their demands and amendments would be introduced in the local government law. Later, the JI ended its 29 days long sit-in.

However, the MQM-P announced a protest over the death of the deceased worker Aslam and demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah.

In the past, ethnic cards were played by the parties dominating in rural and urban Sindh to gain popularity and strengthen the vote bank. The ethnic violence claimed many lives in the past and there are fears that the old ghost might surface again if the key political players fail to demonstrate maturity and settle the dispute over the powers of the local bodies through some mutually agreed give-and-take.

The PPP being the dominant party could defuse the situation for good single-handedly if it devolved powers to the local bodies in line with the 18th amendment. But for this, the PPP has to give up its obsession of controlling each and everything in Karachi.

The PPP detractors say that the strong local governments remain the need of the hour for Sindh as well as the entire country. No modern city – be it the size of Karachi or Sukkur or Larkana – cannot be properly managed without an empowered local government system.

The Jamaat-e-Islami and the MQM protest has forced the PPP to concede some ground. Going forward, it must give financial and administrative powers to the local governments.