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OPINION	E-mail this page
Musharraf and Bloody Ma(r)y
JUNE 10: Maher finally resigned as CM Sindh after a protracted power struggle with MQM's proactive Governor Ibad and his party members. While departing he said he did not sign on the NFC award and the  Kalabagh Dam. Whatever that means may never hit or stop the press. But MQM's Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad reiterated that Maher had resigned for personal reasons. Some news reports however quoted Ibad saying that Maher's resignation was a natural result of Bloody May. Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, who is a graduate from Karachi’s Sindh Medical College, but domiciled in Tharparkar, has now become the chief minister of Sindh. Ishratul Ibad administered the oath to Mr Rahim at a ceremony which was attended by foreign diplomats, civilian and military officers, politicians, ministers, advisers and others. Former Chief Minister Ali Muhammad Maher was absent though. His elder brother and nazim of District Ghotki, Ali Gauhar Maher, apparently proxied for him. It is said that in the Tharparkar constituency from where Dr Rahim hails no one ever gets elected without the approval of the military authorities. So he already has the necessary imprimatur. But how will he steer course between two hostile and untrusting forces: the dominant MQM on the one hand and the volatile MMA in the local government? Chances are things will go worse before long. Mr Rahim later vowed to curb terrorism, particularly suicide bombings. “My top priority will be to maintain law and order. Suicide bombing is not confined to Karachi. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq failed to control bombings too but I will try to control it by providing justice to the people,” he told the assembly. But only a day after such a confident statement by him, unknown gunmen executed a well coordinated attack on the convoy of the Karachi corps commander near Clifton Bridge. Lt. Gen. Ahsan Salim Hayat, the corps commander of Karachi is a trusted colleague of General Musharraf. The attack on the Rangers’ vehicle on March 19, in which a member of the armed forces died, pales into insignificance compared to this act of terrorism. "Such attacks are unprecedented and a failure of security apparatus," said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Pakistani military analyst. "Somebody knew about the movement of the corps commander." Details about the attack are shocking. The gunmen had the audacity to choose the corps commander for a target in an area which has already been fortified following a bomb blast in a nearby lane a couple of weeks ago. They were so prepared that they executed their plan despite the fact that his departure from his GOR Bath Island residence was more than an hour later than usual. There were reports quoting observers that this attack had similarities to the attacks on Gen Musharraf. In this case too, insider information appears to have been communicated to the attackers. The attack also came with the new chief minister, Rahim, still to take a vote of confidence from the assembly. There is no denying that Mr Maher as former chief minister, had complete responsibility for maintaining law and order in the province, particularly Karachi. But the responsibility for maintaining law and order, particularly in Karachi also lay with Mr Maher’s major coalition partner, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, whose former deputy convener Aftab Sheikh was in charge of the province’s law and order. It's a no-brainer that MQM controls the mega city, lock-stock-and-barrel. Even though a lot of water has flowed down the bridge since 1990s, nine zero still has its finger on Karachi's trigger. MMA and its allies however control the local government since 2002. MQM had decided to boycott it (a cause of subsequent regret for the party since it surrendered its hold on Karachi thereby to its rival the Jama’at-e Islami). Interestingly, while MQM blamed the Islamists, more particularly the Jehadis and by corollary MMA for the bloody May in Karachi, no official comments from Islamabad on these May incidents were available to discerning readers, viewers and observers. The most oblique comment from General Musharraf only reflected his proposed post-incident measures. Observers say President Musharraf as usual played his cards close to his chest, preferring an enigmatic silence. Reports said he had asked for the prime minister’s resignation, which the latter refused to submit. Interesting! The director of military intelligence, the director general of internal security of the Inter-Services Intelligence and the chief of army staff are all related to Musharraf through marriage, while Lieutenant-General Shahid Aziz, the corps commander Lahore is a direct cousin of Musharraf.   Photo Poetry by Irshad Salim Inspite of such close-knit family members being his eyes and ears, General Musharraf continues to be in the hot seat. History suggests that when Karachi starts to burn, as it has done over the last few weeks, the rest of the country cannot be far behind. If the events in Gilgit and the increasingly frequent attacks on government infrastructure in Balochistan are any indication, the military-led regime of General Musharraf faces a sterner test over the next six months than anything he had reason to expect until only recently. Also, if the corps commander is no longer invulnerable, ordinary people can hardly consider themselves safe. I am told President Musharraf loves scotch. But some one out there seems to  enjoy Bloody Ma(r)y. More by Irshad Salim: 'Oscar-Tango Karachi' Chalabi: Now you see him now you don't Is Bush being ambushed?

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