Karachi Political Diary

 Karachi Political Diary

. Mubasher Mir

In the Sindh Assembly, the resolution has passed  to pay the tribute to the martyrs of the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy MRD. The movement for restoration of democracy started in Sindh and Punjab in 1983. Former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged on April 4, 1979. President General Zia-ul-Haq held a referendum in 1984 December 19 and got five years of power for himself as a result of a ridiculous question.

 The People's Party started a movement together with a few other parties, General Zia-ul-Haq took control in Punjab province, many Punjabis were allotted lands in Sindh province, Balochistan was managed by releasing of those people who were arrested during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's regime. Balochistan was prevented from becoming an active part of the MRD by releasing the arrested, while after Russia's intervention in Afghanistan, the Pakhtun people were engaged in Jihad together with the United States. But the movement gained momentum in Sindh province and turned into a civil war. After the failure of the civil administration, General Zia-ul-Haq gave the task to the military. Hundreds of people were killed, many were arrested and many were expelled from the province to crush the MRD rallies.

President General Zia-ul-Haq wisely did not allow GM Syed  the famous Sindhi nationalist Leader, to be a part of this movement. Thus, most of the PPP workers became the fuel of this movement, the migrant community of Karachi was angry with Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto for his policies based on Sindhi language, thus Karachi also did not support the MRD, and the most intense After the violence, President General Zia-ul-Haq was able to control the MRD.

The current situation in Pakistan is also a reflection of 1983. Currently, Sindh is quiet, Punjab has been heavily crashed after the February 8 election, but this process has been going on for two years. There are security issues in Balochistan and there is ongoing tension and political rhetoric between the Federation and Pakhtunkhwa province.

In 1983 there was no social media, the difference now is that, Social media is influencing beyond borders. Former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged before the time of MRD, while now the symbol of resistance is former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Adiala Jail. After forty years, the people of Pakistan are running a movement to restore the power and dignity of their vote.

The ruling political coalition includes the People's Party, which founded the MRD and today pays tribute to its martyrs, but supports the creation of a new Supreme Court in the ongoing legal battle over the results of the current election.  The People's Party is calling its past glorious, but in the present era, it does not want to let go of power. It is as if the commitment of ideas is now declared under influence to interests.

Dr. Shahnawaz of Umarkot city of Sindh was killed by the police on the grounds that he was a satanist, but after investigation, he was killed as part of a plan, it has been proved. Police officers have been suspended. But the danger is that forgiveness will be obtained by putting pressure on the relatives as before happened in many cases.

In the Standing Committee on Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of the National Assembly, there was a discussion to extend the quota system in Sindh for another 20 years. MQM members Hasan

Sabir and Hafeezuddin rejected and opposed it, after it was put to a vote, PPP's Naveed Qamar, Nafeesa Shah, Wajiha, Abrar Shah along with JUIF's Alia Kamran voted in favor, according to media reports.  PTI member Ali Muhammad Khan also voted in favor of extending the quota system. While other PTI members Chairman Gohar, Latif, Umeer, Chingiz Khan opposed, after which the proposal was postponed. Surprisingly JUIF creates problems for PPP in Larkana in Sindh and PTI member Ali Mohammad Khan presents himself as a very revolutionary leader. He makes emotional speeches in the House but seems to stand in support of the quota system which is being misused.

Army Chief General Asim Munir has met businessmen in Karachi and encouraged them. He has expressed his determination that the economy will be restored, although this is not the department of the Army Chief, but he is paying attention to it. The federal government should not hesitate to take tough decisions to revive the economy but should first reduce its spending.

The federal government has claimed that the rate of inflation has come down, while house rent, transport costs, water, milk, electricity, gas, vegetables, pulses, meat and other household items are on record level. The data released by the federal government is not based on the survey of any independent and impartial organization, along with this, people's income has not increased, unemployment has increased. In this situation, the government's claim seems hollow.

Supporters of Palestine held a rally in Karachi on the news of martyrdom of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon. The participants of the rally wanted to go to the US consulate Karachi but clashed with the police. The participants of the rally were shelled, injuring several people.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf also organized a rally for the release of Imran Khan. This time the provincial leadership and other leaders participated in the rally. As if PTI also melted the ice by protesting.

The banking sector in Pakistan has started extorting billions of rupees from account holders in the name of service charges. Annual fees for ATM cards and credit cards have been hiked, much to the charges of consumers. Commercial banks themselves deduct money from the account on an annual basis. The State Bank is turning a blind eye to the rights of consumers in this regard, while the Ministry of Finance has also remained silent.