MQM reads the stars...correctly

Islamabad diary
Who in the fullest possession of his senses would have thought this possible, that the MQM, through its Rabita Committee – the nearest thing it has to a politburo – would be asking for “clemency” and appealing to the “establishment” to forego the bitterness of the past? But what appeared to lie in the realm of the impossible has happened.
The MQM has gone further. It has admitted that, yes, some of its workers sought refuge in India in times past but they had done so of their own accord and not as part of any party policy.
Compare all this to MQM supremo Altaf Hussain’s defiant and even wacky statements just a short time ago and we get an idea of the distance the MQM has had to travel since the Rangers’ operation against it began.
This is the raising of the white flag without ifs and buts. For outsiders not directly in the line of fire it is easy to exult at this turn in the party’s fortunes but the temptation should be resisted. What instead this should elicit is a positive response from the ‘establishment’ – in victory magnanimity. But with the clear understanding that there can be return to the organised fascism – I am afraid there are no other words for it – which was the hallmark of the MQM’s politics and its suffocating dominance of Pakistan’s largest city, its only port and commercial and financial capital.
The MQM’s tribulations at the hands of the ‘establishment’ have lasted only a few months. Karachi’s tribulations at the MQM’s hands have lasted much longer. But with the white flag raised it is time to move on and open a new chapter in Karachi’s history.
But one lesson is clear and its implications go beyond Karachi. If the ‘establishment’ – for which read the army – had not shown resolve, if the army command had wavered, if its determination had flagged, the earthquake in the MQM’s approach we are witnessing would not have happened. To echo the Aitchison College motto – and Aitchison was not my college – perseverance has commanded success.
Under the rubric of perseverance must also fall the ban on the leader’s telephonic addresses. What would Hitler have been without his speeches? What was Altaf Hussain without his ability to commandeer and take hostage, for hours on end, the nation’s airwaves? Half of his power came from his constant visibility. The ban made him invisible – Samson without his locks. And he could no more shake the pillars of the temple.
Other operations against the MQM over the years were half-cocked or half-hearted affairs. They ended up by further strengthening the party. And during the Musharraf years the party was given the licence to do with Karachi as it pleased. Those were the MQM’s golden years. Now the wheel of fortune has come full circle, the party trying to cut its losses and blunt the offensive against it by coming up with this appeal.
Still, the MQM is showing greater understanding and foresight than that other power of Sindh, the PPP. The MQM has bowed before the power of reality. If the latest declaration of its intent from the revolutionary surroundings of Dubai is anything to go by, the PPP is struggling to come to terms with reality. Trying to fight off the charge that it is a dwindling force it has outlined a programme of rallies in Sindh and Punjab. This is a strange call to arms: Asif Zardari can’t bring himself to leave Dubai but the show of strength is meant to take place here.
The MQM under the pressure of circumstances has lost the ability to show off its power in Karachi – its recent strike call, the last flicker of defiance on its part, a failure – but the PPP, bereft of fire and spirit, wants to take up from where the MQM has left. Who is supposed to lead the charge? Gilani, Raja Rental, Manzoor Wattoo, the boy wonder, Bilawal…the PPP is now into unwitting comedy. Light lie the ashes of humiliation on the once-mighty party of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Has it been all smooth during the Karachi operation? Not at all: killings still occurred, police officers were shot, and terrorist incidents did take place. Why is it so hard for armchair warriors to realise that in wars – and isn’t this a war? – it never is all smooth sailing. Not just setbacks but defeats occur. When did the tide turn in the Second World War? Towards the end of 1942…two years after the war began.
Setbacks and reverses, mistakes and mishaps, even blunders, do not matter in the larger scheme of things if the direction taken is correct, and if it is backed by firmness and resolve. The losses suffered by the Soviet Union in 1941-41 as the Germans advanced deep into Soviet territory defy belief. But Stalin who in the first week of the German offensive nearly had a nervous breakdown stood firm and gave his country leadership.
To give an example of his ruthlessness, one of the orders he issued was that not only any soldier who surrendered was a traitor, his entire family were traitors. When his own son, Yakov, fell into German hands, Stalin had his wife, Yulia, imprisoned and interrogated. Stalin’s attitude to his son slightly softened when he came to know that he was shot dead while trying to escape…which he considered an honourable death.
The Germans offered to free Yakov in exchange for Field Marshal von Paulus who commanded the doomed German Sixth Army at Stalingrad. Stalin refused, reportedly saying that a marshal was not to be exchanged for a lieutenant.
This is going to be a long haul and this war will be around for a long time. Losses will be suffered; the odd terrorist incident will take place. The Pak-Afghan border is an open border and there are 3-4 million Afghans living in Pakistan. And ours is not a state organised on Prussian lines. But the question is: are we on the right track? Are we doing the right thing? If we are on the right track, if this war had to be fought, then the rest is a matter of detail.
The one caveat is that this being a total war affecting not just the armed forces but society as a whole, for all-out victory in this war it is incumbent that not just the military but society as a whole be mobilised and put on a war footing. This doesn’t mean that everyone pick up a rifle and do push-ups in the morning. It means reducing corruption, improving government performance and generally behaving like better citizens. At present our two wheels are unbalanced: the military in wartime mode, the civilian wheel chugging along at a different pace.
Sep 11 changed so much in the United States, not always for the better…but minds started working on different lines. The war we are in should change everything – from garbage collection to managing traffic in a better manner. Why isn’t this happening? Where’s the leadership? Performance on that score is missing.
Even so, the Karachi declaration is a reminder and confirmation that the general situation is improving and we are set on the right course. Not that everyone will see it in this light. Champions of democracy – the liberati, to use that broad brush term – have a problem acknowledging change if it doesn’t square with their preconceived notions.
But it shouldn’t matter. Armchair warriors are great for open-ended discussions which are not meant to lead to any definitive conclusion. Wars are fought along slightly different lines.
Email: bhagwal63@gmail.com