All 24 MQM members of the National Assembly had resigned on August 12 in protest against the alleged victimisation, extra-judicial killings and disappearances of their party workers in the Karachi operation. The house was prorogued sine die the following day and will be meeting on Friday for the first time since then.On Thursday, a delegation of MQM MNAs submitted applications for the withdrawal of resignations with acting National Assembly Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi, three days after the MQM’s return to the Senate.MQM had decided to withdraw the resignations of its lawmakers following the formation of a Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC) by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Oct 17. On Thursday, a delegation of MQM MNAs submitted applications for the withdrawal of resignations with acting National Assembly Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi, three days after the MQM’s return to the Senate. The government on its part and in its own interest has not only provided an opportunity for MQM to ‘save face’ through an intensive negotiation process but aspires to promote democratic continuity and an avoidance of unnecessary jolts to the system. In an ever precarious political environment, it is a rare sight to see political forces working together to further a common cause of democracy. Parliament’s functional role and supremacy is the only guarantee to minimise democratic hiccups and empower a civil/political order. MQM has had to reconsider its assertive identity politics rooted in the brashness of the 1990s. This dawning of gradual wisdom is in part a necessity to move away from an established and accepted form of muscle methodology that invokes fear and violence, and instead vie for survival through realpolitik. Karachi has witnessed more than three decades of violence and instability rooted in a tension between various political factions; it would be wise to learn from this uncommon display of political camaraderie and move away from ‘exclusionary’ politics with unwarranted special privileges. MQM does have some irreducible rights of protesting injustice, vocalising grievances and ensuring socio-political survival, but it would be well to remember, so does every citizen of Pakistan (in theory at least). We need to accredit our legal, political and social institutions that guarantee a swift and rational course to solve issues that more often than not translate into violence, aggression and political immaturity. Altaf Hussain has been fluctuating in his politics lately with MQM painting itself into a corner. This new move should give it much needed time for recovery and introspection. It is high time MQM matures into a political party instead of an ethnic-linguistic pressure group.
pk.shafaqna.com
