Senior Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza’s fiery speech on July 13 left many other leaders present at the scene queasy. One could see ANP’s Shahi Syed trying to pry Mirza away from the dais as he lambasted Urdu speaking Pakistanis in his speech as shown on TV.
The minister’s speech caused the already volatile situation in many areas of Sindh to erupt again, causing masses to take to the streets in protests, burning effigies of the minister. At least 15 people have been killed and dozens of vehicles torched after tension gripped several cities in Sindh, including Karachi and Hyderabad following the speech.
Fortunately, a written unsigned apology on the behalf of Dr Mirza has been aired on various channels, which points to the fact that the party wants to makes things better. However, the unsigned document has people questioning this apology which means that a seasoned politician cannot overcome his ego and apologise to the nation, which he has taken an oath to protect.
If this is the case, the other political leaders need to act with their heads on straight and come to the table for civil negotiations so that further blood is not shed than has already been shed since yesterday. The loss of non-party, non-political lives in violence ensuing from political quarters should reveal to our leaders that they have to be more careful in selecting their words.
Remember Asif Ali Zardari after BB’s murder? Even if people have unsavoury opinions about him, it has to be said that he controlled a highly volatile situation after the murder of BB even if it was a publicity stunt and saved a lot of lives and maybe the disintegration of the stability of the province of Sindh and maybe country at that crucial point. He showed a sensible amount of political maturity.
Although Dr Mirza has a right to his opinion and he should air it as often as he wants but he should refrain from using his political standing to vent his personal grouses. His statement has caused mother party embarrassment. PPP comprises of people from all backgrounds, and his remark may have also hurt the sentiment of the “Urdu” speaking members of his party. The fact that he was giving his speech in Urdu and was defending Afaq Ahmed – also an Urdu-speaking political worker and leader; reveals that his anger lay else where and not specifically aimed at anyone group or people. It came out in the wrong way.
Seasoned political leaders like him should be aware of the consequences of such comments, especially when the country is vulnerable inside and out. This unfortunate situation has arisen in Pakistan at a time whenMumbai was targeted by three bombs injuring hundreds, with finger pointing towards Pakistan. At this crucial point, our politicians must refrain from voicing any statements that could harm the already fragile political situation in the country.
Leaders like Dr Mirza should act with more maturity, and focus on the international dangers faced by the country. They should not weaken their party’s stance in trying to steer the country in these times. Our “leaders” should try to plug gaps between the population not increase them. Angry speeches, as Dr Mirza’s reveal that personal grouses are more important to our leaders than peace in the country.
On the flip side, Dr Mirza has a right to his opinion and his comments about Mr Altaf Hussain should not cause much alarm among the latter’s supporters mainly because we have seen a recent trend in our country where our leaders from all political parties appearing on various television talk shows, as well as during parliamentary sessions, use abusive language when they are arguing, flinging personal slurs at each other. Such comments should be disregarded as being the norm of the political leaders. But this does not mean that an irresponsible statement should allowed to act as a catalyst and foment the political situation causing death.
If Dr Mirza lost his cool in the flow of emotion, Mr Altaf Hussain should try and appease his workers so that at least it can be said that there are still some political leaders who have shown maturity to douse the anger among the political workers. At this time Rehman Malik has tried to calm emotions all around in his press conference, and has adhered to PPP’s liberal outlook. He also apologised to the MQM leader about Dr Mirza’s speech – a mature way to bring peace in the present situation.
Fortunately, the majority of the people in Sindh affected by the violence want peace and want to continue to peacefully co-exist with others. But this seems to become more and more difficult for them when their leaders get angry in public and in front of the media and say dangerous things.
Those making this country need to understand that they are destined to exist together as one, if they can’t then Pakistan as a country could well be jeopardised. One can only plead to our leaders to recognise the real dangers facing the country, fighting amongst each other is only going to weaken the country and tarnish our image as a nation. Politicians must refresh their public images and get down to the job they have been given to run the country smoothly.
As I write these words, news is coming in that people from all backgrounds are protesting Dr Mirza’s statement, which reveals that the people of Pakistan may be proud of their individual identities but they still consider themselves to be Pakistanis and want peace in the country. Continuous terrorism, violence, killings and unrest is causing a lot of hardship for the masses, for whom hunger and security seem to be more important than the political upheaval in the corridors of power. Shouldn’t our politicians and leaders across the board be aware of what the people actually want and act accordingly?
But it is stranger and sad that our ‘leaders’ seem completely detached from what the people of Pakistan want. They have to understand that if the people of Pakistan voted them into power, it was because they wanted them to improve the situation in the country not to bring it to the brink of disaster. It is time our leaders paid heed to what the public is saying, what it wants and needs, instead of conjecturing and causing unnecessary problems for all.
