The Swat Deal
By Naveed Khan
San Jose , CA
MQM, is the only political party that has taken a common sense position on the deal in Swat. As PPP and ANP use all kinds of superlatives to defend the compromise and implementation of Nizam-i-Adl in swat to placate the gun touting Taliban, MQM abstained from voting and declared that no system could be legitimized at the gun barrel. They must be commended for their upright stance. Nobody, in Pakistan can oppose Nizam-i-Adl, however, the way it has come about in Swat leaves one wondering about the future of democracy. I hope with this conscientious stance MQM would also reflect on the way they manage the party affairs and the way they control Karachi and Hyderabad. They have on numerous instances resorted to extreme violence and eliminated their opponents when faced with the challenge to their power. For MQM to sound credible on Swat agreement, they should show more tolerance and plurality in the two cities under their control.
