The “Fear” Of MQM!

MQM has always been accused of creating an environment of fear due to which the people feel compelled to follow MQM. That is also what hinders its political rivals to freely operate in the city.

The question is, does MQM alone participate in the elections in Urban Sindh? Do other political parties not contest elections? Do the people not participate in the public gatherings, rallies and sit-ins of other political parties here? Did other leaders ever claim that their functions failed as the people did not participate due to MQM? Not at all! Rather, they have always made claims that their public shows were very successful as the people came to them by disowning MQM.

In fact, there have been countless ministers and advisors who were elected from Karachi and commonly known as the MQM critics. The city Nazim Naimat ullah Khan Advocate very cozily completed his four years to rule Karachi despite the traditional rivalry between JI and MQM. Did any of these people ever express their hesitation while taking oath for these posts because of MQM? Of course not! Instead, the media reports are evident that there has always been a long list of the people in the anti-MQM parties who wanted to occupy those posts despite living in the MQM-occupied city. None of the candidates ever stepped back from this contesting due to this fear.

We know that in Malakand Division (2009-10), no anti-Taliban elements including the political parties, civil society, judiciary, lawyers` community and the civil administration could work independently because of them. A large of number of the government employees refused to work there for the same reason. The people were so much scared that thousands of them had to migrate in order to save their lives. But, in Karachi despite the fear of MQM, none of the government servants has ever refused to work here. Instead, all of them have always wished to be posted here for which they do not hesitate even to offer bribes.

The same case is with the Karachi police. Instead of accusing MQM of being behind the killings of the Police officers, the Police stations are sold and bought in Karachi for huge amount of money by the “candidates” to get their posts. Is the trading of police stations the result of their fear from MQM?

Taking into account the same fear from MQM, why did any of the country’s political and religious parties ever jointly pass a resolution in the National or Provincial Assembly for handing over the total control of civil administration of Karachi to MQM just like the way they did for Taliban (Sufi Muhammad and his followers) in Sawat?

Not speaking of even thinking of this, the already prevailing Local Government system of 2001 of Sindh has now been removed despite the disagreement and protest of MQM.

By the way, if the anti-MQM people really want to know what a true fear is and how people behave when they are frightened, they should recall 2007 in which the movement of restoration of judiciary was launched. Almost all the political & religious leaders started claiming that the judiciary had been enslaved for last 60 years. All the judges, lawyers and civil society were united under this slogan. Even the media claimed to have regained its freedom after a long time.

The question is, did any of them ever claim before 2007 that the judges were being used as the rubber stamps by the rulers especially the military establishment? Rather, from 2007, the common people started hearing that their judges had been acting as a rubber stamp on behalf of the military establishment that was illegally, unconstitutionally and unethically ruling over our country. None of our leaders tried to inform their voters that it was not the people-elected, but the GHQ imposed governments.   Unfortunately, all the “democratic rebellions” were completely silent as if “all was well”.

To tell the truth, such an environment is called the true fear that makes people silent as if they are dump and deaf and that was the reason why the entire Pakistani nation remained completely blind of what had been actually going on in the country. Now, can any of the MQM’s critics quote any period, decade, year, month, week or even a day in which the MQM’s rivals kept similar silence against MQM? Is there anyone who can come up with a period of death’s silence against MQM as the one on the enslaved judiciary, controlled media and the militarized democracy during the last 60 years? When no, why to malign MQM?

Thus, keeping in view the already prevailing differences in the people on the basis politics, ethnicity, sec, religion and province, all of us need to develop congenial atmosphere in the country instead of isolating them from each other.

(Already published on Pakistan State Times http://www.pstimes.com/2013/07/29/the-fear-of-mqm/)