Opinion Karachi verdict
A register of reports and views from the Pakistan press
Karachi verdict
In September,Pakistans Supreme Court (SC) took suo motu cognisance of the months-long political violence in Karachi between those affiliated to the citys three major parties: the MQM,the PPP and the ANP. The case was being heard by a larger bench of the Supreme Court in Karachi,headed by the chief justice,Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. On October 7,The News reported: The SCs observation that the Karachi violence was both an ethnic and a turf war relies both on material placed before it by the IG Sindh and other security agencies and its own analysis of other available information. The Express Tribune headlined its top story SC tars all political parties with the same brush,and quoted from the verdict: The court expressed its support to the security forces if asked to obey any illegal orders. The bench said that the court must be informed if leniency is shown to criminals… The groups are supported by political parties and elements within the provincial government as well as the executive… Karachi has to be cleansed of all kinds of weapons by adhering to laws available on the subject,and if need be,by promulgating a new legislation… It also ruled out the supposed benefits of a military operation being the solution to the unrest.
On October 7,Dawn reported the reaction of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. His Punjab-centric party was the only one not to be named in the Karachi unrest. At a rally in Daulatpur,near Karachi,Sharif said: Parties involved in extortion have been revealed now… Karachi was a peaceful city and its peace was deliberately destroyed.
Power struggle
Power cuts,some lasting up to eight hours,have been particularly problematic for Pakistans economy,Daily Times reported on October 3: Rampant loadshedding has brought about mass protests across Pakistan,breaking the back of already crippled business activities. People reportedly blocked highways,burnt tyres and gheraoed houses of local politicians. The PML-N,the main opposition party,has been backing the movement. The Express Tribune reported on October 6 that the PML-Ns Nawaz Sharif condemned the 18-hour-long power outage in flood-hit Sindhs Nawabshah city,calling it a failure on the governments part to provide the necessary relief to victims of a natural calamity.
A hundred legislators from the PML-N,the PML-Q (a federal ally of the PPP) and the Islamist JUI-F amongst other smaller parties as well as some 50 other activists staged a sit-in outside the presidents house in Islamabad,protesting the electricity crisis. The rally was led by PML-N stalwart and the leader of opposition in the National Assembly,Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. We are here to make the resident of this house [President Zardari realise that the people of Pakistan are in pain… and they are desperately looking towards their rulers for help, Khan said.
Violence broke out at several places because of the electricity crisis,so much so that the Sindh government imposed Section 144 within 100 yards of 29 Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) installations,it was reported on October 6.
Coalition trouble
Meanwhile,The News summed up recent dealings between the PPP and its on-and-off partners in the federal ruling coalition,the PML-Q and the MQM,on October 6: Dramatic political developments,ostensibly arising out of an unprecedented power crisis marked by violent protests in several cities of the country,have culminated in a political rapprochement between estranged allies as the MQM on Wednesday rejoined the PPP-led coalition government in Sindh and the centre… Meanwhile,another estranged ally,the PML-Q,also announced its continued support to the present regime following a meeting between its chief and President Asif Ali Zardari… The rapprochement also occurred a day ahead of the Supreme Court judgment on Karachi… A day earlier,the MQM had lodged its protest inside the National Assembly against the power crisis and staged a walkout,while PML-Q federal ministers had also tendered their resignation to their party chief.
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