Has the governor lost the PM’s confidence...or?

The longest serving Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad must have read the “writing on the wall.” Will he step down on his own or await Islamabad’s orders? The key question is that how such a powerful governor suddenly lost the confidence of the state.
Was the decision not to hold a meeting at the Governor’s House or the Chief Minister’s House taken by the prime minister? Was he advised that neither should the governor be invited nor the meeting be held at the Governor’s House? It is not known yet, but one thing looks quite imminent: Ibad is on his way out. If he manages to bounce back after what happened on Wednesday, it would be because of his personal rapport with the quarters concerned.
Apparently, it could be the result of the controversial statement of convict Saulat Mirza in which he had accused Dr Ibad of providing relief to the MQM suspects. But the lack of trust and confidence between the governor and Rangers started some time ago over a controversy related to the CPLC Chief Ahmad Chinoy regarding a case of kidnapping for ransom.
In confidential reports, it was revealed that the CPLC had become too politicized and the governor’s role was also criticized since Chinnoy was his appointee.Dr. Ibad may quit at any time and he is already in consultation with the MQM leadership. But leaving the governor issue aside, the prime minister could have held a meeting at the Chief Minister’s House. Why did he pick Faisal Base and will he achieve anything or lose in the long term?
A senior MQM leader told this reporter that the party’s advice to him would be “not to wait” for the government’s decision. “He should resign without waiting for his replacement,” he suggested.
The meeting on Karachi targeted action should have been held either at the Governor’s House or at the Chief Minister House and choosing “Faisal base” would certainly not go well with the democratic circles.
The prime minister proudly claimed that he had sacrificed his government in 1998 and imposed the governor’s rule after the murder of former governor Hakim Mohammad Saeed, but does he know he had removed his government on “wrong information” because in the end the suspects in the case were acquitted by the highest court. Does he also know how the Sindh government in 1997 was formed and with whose backing besides the MQM?
The prime minister should not feel proud of an “undemocratic” decision, as it hardly brought peace in Karachi or any positive results. On the contrary, the Supreme Court struck down his decision as illegal and unconstitutional and also disbanded the military courts. Within months of imposing the governor’s rule, democracy was removed on October 12, 1999.
There are already speculative stories in the media about his possible replacement and names of some retired generals are also on the cards.
If Dr. Ibad was removed on the basis of a controversial “video statement” of convict Saulat Mirza, it again may not go well without investigation. If he was really involved in all such activities, the question will arise about the role of our intelligence agencies. Has any of these agencies ever given such a report about the governor in the last 12 years? If not, why they believe in Mirza’s statement? If any of the agencies in the past had given any such report, why such files were brushed under the carpet?
Dr. Ibad, an MBBS doctor, was appointed Sindh Governor in 2002 as part of an agreement between the MQM and the then government of General (R) Parvez Musharraf. Earlier, I had written in my analysis about the accord between the two, which led to MQM’s decision to join the government and support Musharraf.
But, will a pro-active governor come or he will just be a figurehead? The governor’s position is symbolic in the Constitution, but Dr. Ibad played a more pro-active role. In fact, he was asked to play such a role in the past by relevant quarters to keep a check on the PPP government.
Now, who used the Governor’s House to keep pressure on the PPP? Was it the MQM or certain quarters that in the past brought a chief minister of their choice like the late Jam Sadiq Ali, Arbab Rahim, Ali Mohammad Mehar or Liaquat Jatoi?
Thus the governor’s house in the past had been used against the PPP government. Justice (R) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim was the only governor, who had refused to dissolve the Sindh Assembly on August 6, 1990. The assembly was dissolved after official office hours when Justice Ebrahim resigned the same evening.
There is a lesson for the PPP and for former president Asif Ali Zardari how his Sindh government is practically being made “non-functional.” Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah knows better than anyone else where he stands today.
So, if the federal government has finally decided to replace Dr Ibad and bring a retired general in his place the role of the chief minister would be further marginalized.
Yes, Karachi needs an across-the-board operation against all militants whether they are political or apolitical. The police and paramilitary Rangers should also be given a free hand in the operation. They had also been given a free hand in the last few years and this is on the record of the Supreme Court in Karachi law and order case.
The government and law-enforcement agencies should go after prosecution of these suspects but must avoid persecution just because some of them belong to the MQM or any other political party.
There should be zero tolerance for criminals and terrorists, but they should be punished by the court and not by the media.
Successive governments in the past “used” the media against their political opponents. Do we remember “Zulm ke Dastan” on the PTV used by General Zia’s government against the PPP? Do we remember the “confessional statements” of al-Zulfiqar activists on the PTV during Jam Sadiq’s government? Have we forgotten the confessional statements of the alleged MQM militants in 1992 and 1994 operations?
Whoever took the decision to record the “video statement” of Saulat Mirza and released it to the media did no good to our judicial system or democracy. No wonder why an inquiry into this great leak of video from Machh Jail was stopped? Dr. Abdul Malik government is not powerful enough to sustain its findings.
A lasting peace in Sindh, particularly in Karachi, can only come through a proper political dispensation, effective prosecution against criminals, speedy justice and major reforms and not through the governor’s rule or by making a democratic government non-functional.
The writer is senior analyst of GEO, The News and Jang.