Karachi Smolders
again!
By Perwaiz Ahmad
Fullerton, CA
The horrific spectacle of bullets
flying right, left and center near the Karachi
Airport on May 12 with not a single law enforcement
official or policeman inclined to check violence
was ample proof that the government - local as
well as federal – appeared firm to scuttle
the rally organized by supporters of suspended
Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on that
fateful day. That the government is afraid of
the outcome of its botched decision to relieve
the CJ of his duties without the due process of
law was all too obvious.
Our founding fathers must be turning in their
graves while the leaders of their party are embroiled
in the struggle to hold on to power at any cost.
Once again, the hopes of Pakistanis have been
shattered because the President has made some
wrong moves in the recent past and the Chief Justice
has shown the courage and audacity (unprecedented
in the history of Pakistan ) to say NO to the
dictates of the ruling class.
Rather than admitting the mistake made by some
unscrupulous advisers, our once beloved President
resorted to the tactics of his predecessors -
Ayub Khan, Bhutto, Zia ul Haq and the likes -
to name a few. Power is contagious and anyone
who ascends to the seat of the presidency, the
most powerful position in any country, changes
his/her ideology and exit plan after the initial
90-day period has passed away and unabashedly
sticks to the chair as if with a "super duper
glue".
The argument by the government - local and federal
- that the opposition is making the CJ issue a
political one is nothing but hogwash and gibberish
because it concerns every citizen - man , woman
or child of Pakistan. That the common man is protecting
the chair, not the person who was in the chair
when the unfortunate situation occurred, does
not take a rocket scientist to figure out. A Supreme
Court that cannot act independently cannot protect
the rights of the citizens; it merely becomes
a government entity that is laced with red tape,
favoritism and nepotism. When the Supreme Court
is under siege by the Head of the State or is
under his thumb, as it has been for the last 60
years, the basic rights of the citizens are trampled
upon and any lofty claim to build the nation proves
an exercise in futility. Now that the government
is cornered it is trying every means to discredit
the opposition.
Immigrants from the partition days (1947) who
are now retired had high hopes when the MQM came
into being and thought that they would finally
get justice. With the rise of the MQM, they thought
that the locals will be the masters of their destiny
but it seems that their hopes have faded away
while the MQM has lost the steam and focus on
its agenda, which was to protect the life and
property of the people in their own jurisdiction.
The MQM must stick to its manifesto, regardless
of ethnicity, and treat all Pakistanis alike,
even if they disagree with its viewpoint or priorities.
