acts of violence in Karachi
especially the death of several people in arson have overshadowed the
events of the earlier two days. Dr Arbab Rahim and Dr Sher Afgan Niazi were
roughed up in shameful incidents. The reaction assumed a grave dimension when
two groups of lawyers clashed in Karachi and the
city was gripped by terrorism of the worst kind. Somebody locked the gates of a
building housing a lawyer’s office before setting it on fire to ensure that the
object of his hatred did not escape certain death. No party can now claim that
its conduct has been impeccable. Worse still, the political atmosphere of
goodwill and bonhomie that the country was experiencing just a week ago has
dissipated overnight. The MQM has announced an indefinite boycott of the Sindh
Assembly, with the PML-Q following suit. This means all sides the victors
of the Feb 18 vote and those outside the grand alliance are one way or the
other willing actors in the sordid drama that is being enacted. As was to be
expected, the blame game is in full swing. This is something that has to stop before it is too late. The situation has now
reached a stage where individuals do not count; at stake is the fate of the
democratic process itself that began with such hope and fervour only a few
weeks ago. While we hate to sound pessimistic, we cannot but express our
profound concern over what appears to be the political leaderships failure to
exercise control over their cadres and supporters. It is now clear that while a
dialogue between the top leadership of political parties is important to forge
a broad understanding on power-sharing and consensus on policy directions, this
spirit of accommodation must trickle down to the party’s rank and file.
Politics cannot be held hostage to the vengeful approach and hatred of party
workers many of whom have a personal axe to grind. One cannot condone the
leaderships of different parties for not taking their workers to task for acts
of violence which appeared indiscriminate. In this situation, the role of the electronic media will also come under
scrutiny. In Karachi, where
commuters have to travel long distances to reach home, Wednesday’s incidents
were localised, but some TV channels conveyed the impression that the entire
city was up in flames. This was not the case, and within a surprisingly short
time the situation had normalised. Again, the parties have not helped by
allowing their leaders of all ranks to address televised press
conferences round the clock or sending them to speak on television where they
indulge in slanging matches that help no one. On the contrary, they only
provoke their party workers and cause despair among others when they should be
exercising restraint. Courtesy: Daily Dawn |
