Blame game

Politicians are usually quite prone to pointing fingers for blame rather than coming up with actual solutions to problems. But it is the job of legislators to rise above those baser political instincts and focus on governing. It is quite clear that lawmakers from the MQM and ANP failed to do so during the September 27 session of the National Assembly, when both parties began accusing each other of instigating violence in Karachi. Both parties have been calling for independent inquiries into the target killings that have plagued the largest city in the country for months. Yet both sides seem keen to focus on assigning blame rather than bringing an end to the violence that has destroyed so many young lives. We would like to remind both parties that they are in government at both the federal and provincial levels. If they are so keen on inquiries, they can wield their influence within their coalition and initiate that inquiry.

But while an inquiry would be welcome, perhaps a more useful exercise would be that the parties themselves initiating inquiries about the activities of their own members and expelling those found to be guilty of involvement in the violence. Such a cleansing act is likely to be popular with the voters as well as a necessary act of catharsis for Karachi. Only then can the city move from being a violent stew of warring ethnic groups to a harmonious melting pot of the various linguistic strands that make up the national fabric. The citizens of Karachi deserve a sincere move on the part of both parties to end the violence. The blame game will not get either party anywhere. It is bad politics and worse governance. Both parties must acknowledge that they both have significant constituencies in the city. They should now learn to work with each other without violence. Otherwise, there will not be much of a city left to govern.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2010.