AS I SEE IT
Fruits of Good Governance
GOVERNOR'S Rule has been a very satisfactory experience in the province of Sindh, at least in the initial stages. As a constant advocate of Sindh taking an interim hiatus from democracy for the sake of preserving the integrity and existence of the country, we have been fully justified by the results seen so far even though much more can be done and far more can be achieved before we dare to return to the luxury of a democracy as practised in the Province of Sindh. The first stroke of good fortune without question is the person of the Governor of Sindh, he has excelled in his civilian pseudo-political attire.
When a ruler does not subscribe to self-interest or pander to a particular lobby, the results will always be above par. The Governor has been very positive, deserving of good kudos for some outstanding initiatives in the last three months, prime among them must count the latest decision to abolish the quota system in Sindh. Anything that undercuts a merit-based system must be done away with. One must report (with crossed fingers) that terrorism seems to have been contained for the time-being. One may well ask why terrorism was rampant during the democratic years? When the rulers themselves were patronising terrorism, how could it be ever contained?
The rank and file of the Sindh police and the Rangers are the same, the only new ingredient is in the form of the Military Trial Courts (MTCs) meting out punishment on a fair and equitable basis. By handing out death sentences, they may have run afoul of a lot of bleeding hearts but one may well ask these human rights advocates as to the "Human Rights" of the people these terrorists killed mercilessly and brutally?
An eye for an eye is not a new concept, it is an acceptable part of our heritage. The only disturbing factor is the false accusation and made-up allegations are part and parcel of the modus operandi and culture of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The problem is further complicated by sometimes choosing warped, ambitious soul-less creatures to head such units.
In September 1995 when Kunwar Khalid Yunus, then an MQM MNA was under custody and undergoing trial, he was regularly using the library of a foreign Consulate General, thanks to an "arrangement" with his police guards. On one of his trips to the library he dashed into the Consulate premises and asked for political asylum. Since my private security services company was guarding the Consulate, the "conspiracy theorists" went into over-drive to teach me a lesson for my perceived tilt towards Mian Nawaz Sharif. The motive was blatantly political with a fair amount of jealousy from assorted scoundrels thrown in.
The Benazir Regime not only cancelled the NOC of my Company but also sealed the offices of the rest of my business all over the country on the questionable pretext of being "a die-hard MQM supporter". As a last nail in the coffin they sent letters to our major clients saying that the company did not exist any more. Unfortunately my wife is a name-sake of Mushtaq Sehgal's wife, then an MQM leader. When it was politely pointed out to them that the person in question was not my wife, the intelligence agencies decided that I was still giving a mis-statement and that the person was my sister, coincidentally another name-sake. The fact that my only sister had died 16 years earlier and had never played tennis, at least during her lifetime, did not cut any ice with them. The fact that I was born in Bihar confirmed my "MQM" credentials. The lady who now holds forth about "freedom of expression" felt nothing about destroying me and my family for the "crime" of supporting Mian Nawaz Sharif in the print media. Without condoning the government's vendetta against the Jang Group, at least she should be embarrassed in fulminating about "press freedom". In the end there was only the will of God as exercised through the Sindh High Court and the sense of justice and fairplay of General Babar, a person who will never do anything consciously wrong, that saved my business from total collapse. He had to intercede again in March 1996 when another such attempt was made because of the machinations of an absolute scoundrel then in uniform. These people did not care less that 10-12000 persons would have been thrown out of work alongwith their 50-60000 dependents, what did it matter to them as long as they could crucify 'one' they want to?
The destabilising effects of freezing of bank accounts, recalling of loans, etc took us almost three years to overcome. As Mark Twain suggested, "the rumours of our demise were greatly exaggerated". One can sympathise with Mian Nawaz Sharif and family as to how Benazir made them "bank defaulters". My personal experience leads me to plead that those people who make false accusations and fake allegations must be brought in front of Military Trial Courts to face the same punishment that they accuse other people of. That will be the only deterrent on the enthusiasm of those who resort to personal vendettas using the strength of their offices at the cost of the persecuted individual. The Governor has taken other remarkable initiatives, suspending the Chief Minister's and his own powers to dole out plots of land to favourite individuals, the most corrupt practice ever followed by any democratic government in history, making billionaires out of the undeserving. The construction mafia, the land grabbing mafia, the reti and bajri mafia, the road building mafia, the electricity, the water, the telephone mafia, etc. all have contributed to the erosion of credibility (and livability) of the great metropolitan city of Karachi. If the Governor can continue with more such initiatives then this city and this province will be a better place to live in than when the likes of Abdullah Shah and Liaqat Ali Khan Jatoi left it in.
As regards desalination of water, another pet Moinuddin Haider project, the only economically feasible way is by converting garbage into fuel to fire the boilers that would make cheap electricity to make desalinated water for Karachi. The Governor should ask the "elected representative of the people" Farooq Sattar why as the Mayor in 1990 he wanted to "sell" the garbage of Karachi instead of being satisfied that it was being removed at no cost in an eco-efficient manner? The Governor should also ask that great champion of democracy and the city of Karachi, Ms Benazir Bhutto why in 1995 she cancelled the Letter of Intent (LOI) given to a US company that was investing almost US$ 150 million into this vital socio-economic project? In her anxiousness to persecute me she deprived the city of Karachi of a source of supply of potable water and the means of disposing off garbage. The Governor must be commended for his initiatives across the broad front that he has chosen to go on the offensive. Even though militarily it may be a questionable strategy, the fact remains that we have been reduced to such dire straits that there is no option but to rely on the will of the people to support this brave venture. One is contrite about lambasting Chief Secretary of Sindh Salik Nazir and IG Police Rana Maqbool Ahmed in the print media as "controversial persons who are not suited to be part of the Governor's 'A' Team".
The performance of these two over the period of the Governor's Rule till date has been good enough for them to make me eat my words, there is no option but to acknowledge whenever one is wrong. One must apologise to them through the same column. Sometimes reputations have a way of being far detached from reality. One is reminded about the person who came to President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War and complained to him that Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was drinking too much whisky and was unfit to lead the Union Army. "Abe" Lincoln turned to his visitor and asked to know the name of the brand of whisky Grant drank so that he could send a case of each to the rest of his Generals. If Gen. Grant had so much success despite his drinking maybe the rest of his Generals could do the same (I hasten to add before I run afoul of Islamists that I am not preaching drinking alcohol to either Salik Nazir or Rana Maqbool). The fact remains that Salik Nazir has brought sanity and cohesion into the concept of governance in the Administration of Sindh and one can only hope that he will continue to follow the footsteps of his illustrious father and make an indelible mark for himself. It is very important that the administration work in an efficient, coherent and civilized manner for the betterment of the society as a whole in the province. We had been reduced to the laws of the jungle and anarchy was only a precipice away from disaster. Hardworking civil servants are always of great benefit to the populace and God alone knows how much the masses of this city and province need good governance. To me there is a glimmer of light at the end of a distant tunnel. We live in hope, surviving on the fact that God has not forsaken us, at least as yet.
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