...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
operation -- left the talks as the party felt the prime minister was too "helpless" to address its concerns. The move has surprised the PML-N as well as
Maulana Fazlur RehmanDeobandi holy man, known as
Mullah Dieselduring the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ...
, whom the ruling party mandated to negotiate with the MQM.
In the MQM's case, it is not clear what the party seeks to achieve by quitting parliament and closing the avenues of dialogue. For one thing, it is unfair for the party to accuse the PML-N of non-seriousness where acceptance of its demands is concerned. After all, if the ruling party wished it could have accepted the Muttahida politicians' resignations in August.The fact that the federal government has made efforts to engage the MQM appears to show the PML-N's sincerity. For its part, the government should speed up formation of the proposed committee to look into the MQM's genuine grievances about the Karachi operation. The Muttahida, on the other hand, should shed its rigid posture and concentrate on the upcoming LG polls in Sindh. For while the party scrambles to generate coherent responses to the many crises that confront it, its political opponents are taking advantage of the situation and planning to make electoral gains. For example, at a recent meeting in Hyderabad organised by the Jamaat-e-Islami
...
The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka
The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an
independentbranch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
, a number of parties decided to form an anti-MQM electoral alliance to contest LG polls in the Sindh city. Should the Muttahida cede ground by leaving electoral space open, it will have few to blame but itself. To prove it has severed all links with Lion of Islam elements and is solely concerned with fighting its battles at the ballot box, the MQM needs to formulate a policy for the LG polls.