LAHORE - The PPP and the MQM are the major political forces of Sindh. The PPP is ruling the province while the MQM, though not in power, is the strongest force in the cities. This is despite the fact that there are serious allegations against the leaders of both the parties.
But now a new development has taken place.
Uzair Baloch, arrested about a year ago and brought before the media only recently, is reported to have expressed his willingness to become approver against the PPP leaders, including Asif Ali Zardari.
He said in a video confession that the top PPP leaders gave him direct orders of target killings, extortion, land grabbing and money laundering. According to him, he was provided with lists of those required to be target- killed. He also confessed to the assassination of Khalid Shehenshah, a key witness in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
There are also reports that former minister Dr Asim Hussain has also shared very valuable information with the investigators which may put the former president in trouble. (However, Dr Asim said after appearing before a court that he would like to die but would not make the kind of statement “they” want him to make, an obvious reference to the investigators he is in custody of).
The second story is that of an MQM adherent. Khalid Shamim, a prime suspect in the killing of former MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq, said recently he was willing to become an approver in this case. Although nobody can dare utter a single word against the party leadership, he alleged that Altaf Hussain, Muhammad Anwar and their “accomplices” are being helped by MI6, RAW and CIA.
Khalid Shamim is in the FIA’s custody along with Mohsin Ali Syed and Moazzam Ali. He is reported to have confessed to the murder and said he received orders in this regard from MQM leader Muhammad Anwar in London.
Allegations against the PPP and the MQM leaders are very serious and must be probed. But at the same time the state should also keep in mind the likely fallout and reaction from the two parties.
The government has already stated many a time that India is involved in terrorist activities in Karachi, Balochistan and FATA. Evidence in support of the allegation has also been given to the United Nations and the United States.
An enemy will do exactly what the government has accused India of doing in various areas. And this fact must be borne in mind while proceeding against Zardari and Altaf. The two could adopt any policy in self-defence and India would do anything to exploit the situation.
The PPP has already been complaining that Sindh has been singled out for operation and accountability of its leaders. If the PPP leaders are pushed to the wall, they may come up with an unpredictable reaction.
Similarly, Altaf Hussain has already repeatedly spoken against the military leadership. Although the Lahore High Court banned his media coverage a few months ago– and the ban is still in force - there is no change in the attitude of the MQM leader, who has been living in self-exile in London since 1992.
According to some reports, his speeches to the party workers are as biting as before. He continues to a strong critic of the army. A British national for the past several years, Altaf has been demanding a separate province for Mohajirs for quite some time. It’s irony that after spending a few years in UK he has become a British national, but he continues to give Mohajirs an impression that they are not the first rate citizens of Pakistan and don’t have the rights other Sindhis have. This is despite their claim that after partition their forefathers had come to Pakistan as a matter of choice.
The MQM chief shocked many Pakistanis when during a visit to India several years ago he had said that partition of the subcontinent was the greatest mistake.
There are many points on which one can have a difference of opinion with the PPP or the MQM leaders. But it’s a fact that the kind of operation and accountability witnessed in Karachi is not seen in Punjab and other areas of the country. (The Zarb-e-Azb should not be brought into comparison).
Opposition parties are alleging that mega projects being carried out by the PML-N government at the centre and Punjab involve mega corruption. No action has been taken against anyone on the basis of these allegations.
The PML-N leaders have alleged many a time that the PML-Q leaders committed corruption during the Musharraf era. But no case has been registered against anyone. The NAB sources indicated a few months ago that a former Punjab chief minister will face accountability. No progress has been seen on this front.
This provides a justification to parties like the PPP and the MQM to allege discrimination. In such a situation the government will have to be very careful while proceeding against the top leaders of the two parties controlling the province of Sindh. In case they joined hands against the centre, the latter will have to face serious embarrassment. The PPP and MQM leaders must be made to face the music on the basis of whatever proofs the government has against them. But the impression of their being singled out will have to be cleared first.