THREE provincial assemblies have so far met, and completed their business with parliamentary decorum, except the Sindh Assembly. This is astonishing because, relatively speaking, Sindh is the most literate of the three provinces and has produced some exceptionally brilliant politicians and parliamentarians. The enormity of the fracas on two consecutive days has implications that go beyond the person of Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim and has the potential to wreck the friendship which the PPP and the MQM were professing with great warmth last week. The most disturbing of the developments is the MQM’s decision to boycott the assembly session indefinitely. The MQM leadership’s anger over the manhandling and humiliation of their chief ally in the last coalition government can be understood. The Karachi-based leadership condemned it, and from London Mr Altaf Hussain called it ‘an act of terrorism’. The PPP also denounced the incident without any reservations but blamed, perhaps unconvincingly, the caretaker government for it by claiming that it still controlled the police and officialdom. However, an indefinite boycott of the assembly, when it has just begun its session and the task of government formation has not even started, seems unwarranted.

The contrast with what happened last week is stunning: Asif Ali Zardari visited Nine Zero – preceded by the fateha at the graves – and the warm response given by the flag-waving MQM supporters seemed to consolidate their political alliance. However, the indefinite boycott shows impetuosity rather than a well-considered political reaction to an unfortunate incident. Some analysts link the MQM’s decision to another motive: the MQM wants to be given some plum departments in the coalition government, and the boycott is intended to pressure the new chief minister. The MQM need not be told that the PPP enjoys an absolute majority in the house, and it elected Syed Qaim Ali Shah the chief minister without the presence of the assembly’s second largest party. The new chief minister has yet to begin the task of government formation, and it goes without saying that the boycott will not merely serve to delay it, the MQM’s decision could perhaps mark the beginning, once again, of yet another era of hostility between the two. If the trend is not checked in time, history could repeat itself and Sindh may find the PPP and the MQM again embroiled in a kind of reckless confrontation that saw a lot of blood letting in the nineties. This will go against the national ambience which is at the moment characterised by cooperation and harmony among all parties and leaders to make a success of the democratic process. Meanwhile, the blackout of the two TV channels needs to be thoroughly investigated. While the cable operators’ body blamed the blackout on a technical fault, we hope the findings of the inquiry ordered by Federal Information Minister Sherry Rahman will be made public so that the real culprit is identified.
Source: Dawn
Date:4/9/2008