Altaf Hussain, the London-based enigmatic supremo of the Mohajirs’ party, MQM, has renewed his call to the army to lead the nation by getting rid of its deadwood. This is his second call to the army – honest commanders his favourite expression – to come forward and help the land of the pure to usher in a renaissance. In a sense he can be said to be campaigning for army rule even though he is an ally of the PPP in the federal government.
Altaf said, ‘The army can save country. If an army man came out on the roads in support of the common man’s interests, such an army man would be truly one who loves the country’. He went on to add: ‘In the past the army supported feudals but now it must help the common man. Some may think I am clamouring for martial law. No I don’t want such a thing. Look at the reality of Pakistan today. And the troubled times…Balochistan is on the verge of separation, for instance…’
Situation in Sindh appears to be deteriorating – politically and security wise. The arrest of Sindh nationalist group leaders by federal agencies has not gone down well with the locals. The arrests clearly show that the security agencies have begun to view increased agitations by these groups as a serious threat- serious enough to arrest top ranking leaders – something that was not attempted in roughly two years.
The agitations by Sindh nationalist leaders are indicative of a larger phenomenon of widening gap between Sindh and big brother Punjab. Differences between the two provinces are not new. The state of relations are always characterised by periods of highs and lows. But what is happening now is the entry in a big way of PML-N, the Punjab based party in to Sindh. The local big daddy MQM is not amused and has upped its ante. It is also now vying for a toe-hold in Punjab even as it is fuelling Sindh’s traditional water discard with Punjab
A charitable conclusion from MQM supremo’s entreaties to the army is that Altaf wants to return to Pakistan with and by the support of army. Altaf can even forge an alliance with former Pakistani strongman Gen Pervez Musharraf, who, like the MQM leader, is in London in self-exile.
Significantly, President Zardari’s personal message to Hussain was delivered in person in London by the Sindh Governor. This indicates that Zardari is keen to retain MQM chief on his side.
Viewed against the developing political equations, the ISI (by extension it’s Parent, the Army’s) spat with the CIA over Davis saga makes eminent sense. ISI is very angry about being kept in the dark about the CIA agents in the country. Hence the much publicised drive against C.I.A agents in Pakistan. This is a new weapon in the ISI-Army armoury in the dealings with the US.
And the ‘establishment’ of Pakistan is asking the Americans to give them the drone technology in exchange for Davis. It is trotting out the usual promise that the Pakistani drones would be used in the Af-Pak border but if history is the guide there is no guarantee that Pak could use this technology against India
