Silent Support for our Military Dictator and his Death Squad Goons

Pakistan opposition tastes blood

By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - When suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry received a rapturous welcome by thousands of people on his way to a rally in Lahore this past weekend, a deep sense of foreboding was awakened in the corridors of power in Islamabad.

The widespread protests since President General Pervez Musharraf suspended Chaudhry on March 9 on accusations of charges of abuse of power were taking on a distinctly anti-Musharraf flavor: the judicial crisis was being hijacked by the opposition political parties.

Musharraf's response was to meet fire with fire.

Weekend clashes between rival political parties in the port city of Karachi left more than 45 people dead and hundreds injured. Musharraf gave the several thousand special Rangers sent to the city orders to "shoot to kill" any "miscreants".

Karachi and other major centers observed the opposition's call for a general strike on Monday in protest of the violence.

When it was announced last week that Chaudhry would travel to Karachi to address the Sindh Bar Council, opposition and pro-Musharraf parties immediately announced plans for rallies. As it turned out, Chaudhry never left Karachi airport, but the rival parties nevertheless set about each other in the volatile city.

Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, has a history of unseating governments through popular movements, and neither side was prepared to back down.

On the Musharraf side, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League and its coalition partner in the federal and Sindh governments, the Muttehida Qaumi Movement (MQM), gathered forces. The Urdu-based MQM traditionally trumpets the rights of immigrants from India in Pakistan.

Activists of the Pashtun-based opposition, such as the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarian (PPPP) of Benazir Bhutto, meanwhile, gathered in numbers.

As tension mounted in anticipation of Chaudhry's arrival on Saturday, the security forces withdrew from the streets, making it inevitable that violence would ensue, especially as MQM activists blocked off all roads to the airport.

Most of the victims were Pashtuns belonging to the ANP. With more than 1.5 million, Karachi has the biggest Pashtun population in the world.

On Monday, Karachi was tense. All multinational corporations, banks, industries and commercial activities were shut down. Armed mobs were still visible on the streets, including PPPP activists who went on the rampage in the southern Lyari area, setting government assets on fire.

The eastern district became a battlefield between the MQM and the Pashtun jirga, an armed grouping of Pashtuns formed recently specifically to counter attacks on Pashtuns. Both sides exchanged heavy fire, with most casualties reported among the MQM.

The paramilitary forces instructed to kill on sight again remained in the background, perhaps feeling they would only make the situation worse.

Not that the government has been inactive. It has mounted raids across Punjab on the residences of opposition parties, and hundreds of people have been arrested.

On Saturday, to the beat of the drums of folk dancers and behind a bulletproof shield, Musharraf said in Islamabad that the masses were behind him and they had shown their muscles in Karachi.

But just two days later, Musharraf and his coalition partners are on the back foot as the opposition parties have taken center stage.

New dynamics
The government now blames Chaudhry for politicizing the country.
But the opposition parties saw their opportunity, and they moved quickly to ride the discontent created by Chaudhry's suspension. It is widely believed that Musharraf acted against Chaudhry to ensure that his bid for another five years in power this year is not blocked by the judiciary, especially over Musharraf's refusal to step down as army chief.

"I can assure you, had the political parties not backed the chief justice, the government would have dismissed him in two weeks, just like it has in the past with other judges," said cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who has emerged as a frontline leader in the crisis. "Without a uniform, Musharraf would not manage to win a single seat in Parliament," said Kahn.

Ahead of Chaudhry's visit to Karachi, Pakistani intelligence agencies had planned to contain the traditional political parties, such as the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and the PPPP. But the well-organized JI had read the writing on the wall and lay very low, handing over the mantle of protest to the ANP, which took the brunt of the casualties.

The ANP and the MQM are both pro-Western and have in the past cooperated despite their ethnic differences. But the government set the stage for the bloody showdown between the MQM and the ANP.

The Pashtun populations in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and southwestern Balochistan province are already restive because of Pakistani military operations against them in pursuing the "war on terror". (Significantly, Pashtuns make up 25% of the armed forces.)

The events in Karachi will certainly strengthen Pashtun bonds across the country - both NWFP and Balochistan shut down on Monday.

According to news reports, the MQM-anointed Sindh governor, Dr Ishratul Ibad, called the leader of the ANP, Asfandyar Wali Khan, on Monday in an attempt to patch things up. Wali, though, clearly told the governor that the ruling coalition would face the music in reaction to what it had done on the streets of Karachi.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com.

Original article posted here.