Bridging the divide
By Jan Khaskheli
Ali Mohammed leads a Shehnai group in Hyderabad, which performs at wedding functions of middle class families. The group does not make distinctions between the clients' ethnicity - they perform for Sindhi-speaking families and Urdu-speaking families in the city, and do not understand the argument regarding the ethnic divide in Hyderabad.

It was in the early 1980s when some bomb blasts ripped apart Bohri Bazaar in Saddar. A huge fire engulfed the area, and soon gutted all that was visible. Even the resulting smoke cloud was visible from afar. Some elements in the city tried to act violent, but the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Civil Lines marshalled the police and controlled the situation.

Almost thirty years later, on May 19, 2010, a spate of target killings gripped the metropolis. Over 22 people were killed and dozens injured that day, as the effects of "targeted" violence in Shah Faisal Colony a night before spilled to the rest of the city.

An Awami National Party (ANP) activist and a mobile phone dealer by profession, Nabi Khan, was first gunned down on May 18 by unidentified men. Later the same evening, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activists, Mohammad Hanif and Syed Asghar Ali, were also shot dead. The cycle of violence continued throughout the night, and throughout the next day as well.

Amidst all the mayhem, Karachi Administrator Fazlur Rehman did not venture beyond the confines of his home. As per the Police Order-2002, Rehman - much like Mustafa Kamal and Naimatullah Khan before him - was not required to assume control of the police in times of crisis. Even Kamal and Karachi DCO Javed Hanif stood helpless in the face of violence on December 27, 2007, when Benazir Bhutto's caravan was attacked, and again, on December 28, 2009, when the main Ashura procession on M.A. Jinnah Road was hit by terrorists, and "riots" erupted in various parts of the city.

While coalition partners, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) continue to wrangle over the future of the system of local government, it is clear that a mechanism needs to be evolved to guarantee security and order in the city, one that empowers the executive to exercise some control over the police.

A senior officer of the Sindh home department, speaking to Kolachi on condition of anonymity, said that there was little probability of the Police Order-2002 being revisited by the officials concerned. "This is a political government, and if they do not want to change it, no one can help it," he said.

Old districts and jurisdiction limits

During the days of the old system, citizens often did not know where district limits started and where they ended. Karachi East limits would begin when one crossed Lasbella Bridge. This limit extended till Capri Cinema. The area before Tinhatti Bridge, and the one before Lasbella Bridge was all part of District Central. The area from Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) to Memon Masjid was part of District South.

District East was the largest district, and it included the Karachi airport. However, when District Malir was carved out, Karachi airport was separated from District East. Interestingly, MQM and other parties of Karachi had opposed the creation of this district at the time.

The situation in the coastal areas was taken care of by Harbour District, and most of the cases reported in the sea port incidents were handles at the Docks police stations.

Former Sindh Chief Minister Ghous Ali Shah created District West, on the logic that due to the composition of those living in areas such as Banaras, Qasba, Pahar Ganj and Hussain D' Silva, the situation needed to be kept in check.

Commissioner and his team of DCs and SDMs

Perhaps the greatest difference between the old and new system is the removal of the strata of district magistrate/commissioner (DC) and sub-divisional magistrate (SDM). The Police Order-2002 was part of larger changes made to the system of local government, which were approved by the National Assembly. With the abolition of the old commissioner system, the executive and magistracy were separated. However, the judiciary still maintained its responsibilities under the new system, as district and sessions judges were posted in various districts.

Under the local government system of 1979, the city was run by a commissioner, under whose command worked the DCs. In turn, the DC would control SDMs. The commissioner's office was located on Club Road, and he would move around the city whenever the situation turned violent or insecure.

The advantage of having the commissioner and his subordinates run the city was that they could command the police, and criminal elements would be dealt with an iron hand. Whenever the DC of an area would arrive in an affected locality, residents would breathe a sigh of relief as he used to direct SDMs, powerful in their own right, to resolve the grievances of the people.

An SDM enjoyed sweeping powers, and would control 12 police stations in his district. Not only did an SDM have the powers to grant bail and handcuff under trial prisoners, he would also deal with traffic tickets on the pretext that he was to collect revenue for the government. Most SDMs were given government cars, and would move with an armed guard. SDMs were also given special staff, whose responsibilities included maintaining a ledger of traffic tickets; the SDM's Peshkar would maintain a record of the accused in custody, and when they were sent on remand.

During the days of the Zia regime, Benazir Bhutto had just returned to the country from exile. Bhutto was asked her preference of SDM who would accompany her, and she chose SDM-Civil Lines Ahmed Fahim Mughal. Mughal belonged to the PPP, and was later even deputed at Bilawal House. Interestingly, he was the one to announce news of the birth of Bakhtawar, Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari's daughter.

In those days, student violence on campus was widespread. SDMs would often remad students of University of Karachi (KU) to the police, and even innocent students were produced in handcuffs. When curfew was imposed in Karachi, district magistrates and SDMs would also issue curfew passes to those who were required to move from one plane to another during curfew hours. SDMs would also remain in touch with the elites of the area, and hold meetings with religious leaders.

An incident of jurisdiction took place when members of the MQM were giving themselves up for court arrest. The MQM contingent was standing just before the Teenhatti Bridge, and DC-Central Mohammed Yousuf went up to them to ask them about their preferred mechanism of surrender, one that would be carried out in a respectable manner.

An agreement was reached at between the DC and the MQM that fire will not be opened, but the SSP-East of the time ignored the accord, and ordered his personnel to open fire. This subsequently lead to a wave of violence engulfing the city. At the time, however, the DC central was shell-shocked that the police did not pay any heed to his orders.

The PPP has long maintained that if given a chance, it would bring back the old commissioner system. Sindh Local Government Minister Agha Siraj Durrani has said many times that the government will refer to the judiciary for restoration of judicial powers of the city's administration, but the fact remains that unless the Police Order-2002 is changed, all other changes may be deemed as redundant.

Charting the Hyderabad controversy

At a recent event of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP)'s Hyderabad wing, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani claimed that Hyderabad's original status will be restored. This evoked a strong response from Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which threatened to quit the coalition government.

This compelled President Asif Ali Zardari to assure MQM Chief Altaf Hussain that the present status of Hyderabad will not be changed, with Interior Minister Rehman Malik rushing to London to meet the MQM leader.

Before the union of the PPP and the MQM, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q)-led government, under the chief minister at the time, Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, became major beneficiaries of the division of Hyderabad.

Before Rahim's rule, Hyderabad was comprised of five Tehsils, namely Matiari, Hala, Tando Mohammed Khan and Tando Allahyar. The other divisions in the city were based on urban population within Hyderabad, with Qasimabad and Latifabad being classified as Talukas.

Following the imposition of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance (SLGO)-2001, three districts were carved out of larger Hyderabad, and these included Matiari, Tando Mohammed Khan and Tando Allahyar. Hyderabad proper was divided into Hyderabad City, Latifabad and Qasimabad.

Former Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, currently in exile in the Middle East, told Kolachi that he had ordered these districts to be carved out, but claimed that these had been made "on the demand of the people of these localities." When pressed further, he hastily added: "this step was carried out by the Board of Revenue"

Rahim said that he had done nothing out of the ordinary, claiming that PPP founder Z A Bhutto also made new districts, which included Badin and Shikarpur. Similarly, he said, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto also created districts Nawabshah, Jamshoro, Tharpakar, Sanghar and Umerkot.

The former chief minister claimed that people of these areas demanded that these new districts be made, as they had to go all the way to Hyderabad city to resolve their problems. Rahim maintained that on the ground, government officials would often ignore the problems of these people, since they were from under-developed areas.

When asked if these districts were made on the demand of Muttahida, he replied in the negative, claiming that the Board of Revenue moved a summary, which was approved by him as chief executive of the province. "I assure you that if the PPP changes the status of Hyderabad, there would be an instantaneous reaction. You saw how Rehman Malik rushed to London to apologize for a statement given by Prime Minister Gilani in connection with Hyderabad," he maintained.

Former Hyderabad Nazim Kunwar Naveed told Kolachi that Hyderabad has a unique status in Sindh, which is based on the city's history. He said that Hyderabad is regarded as the second largest city of Sindh, and it used to be the capital city of the province. He said that before the creation of Pakistan, Sindh only had three districts: Karachi, Hyderabad and Shikarpur. Now, he said, Sindh comprises 23 districts.

Naveed said that when local body elections were held in 2001 under the new SLGO, Nazims of the area were empowered to deliver civic facilities to citizens. The proposal to divide and make a district out of Hyderabad was made.

He said that during the Musharraf government, local body elections were held in 2005, and coalition partners of the time, PML-Q and MQM discussed making four districts out of Hyderabad, so that problems of commonfolk could be resolved at the grassroots level

Kunwar said that at the time, eight Talukas (Towns) were made and four Talukas consisted of Hyderabad city, Latifabad, and Hyderabad Rural. The other four Talukas of Hyderabad comprised of four districts, namely Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Tando Mohammed Khan and Hala. This status of Hyderabad remains in force, he said, adding that the MQM has made it clear to the PPP that any effort to change the present status of Hyderabad will not be acceptable.

Bridging the divide

Ali Mohammed leads a Shehnai group in Hyderabad, which performs at wedding functions of middle class families. The group does not make distinctions between the clients' ethnicity - they perform for Sindhi-speaking families and Urdu-speaking families in the city, and do not understand the argument regarding the ethnic divide in Hyderabad.

The group members say that as traditional Manganhars, they always try to bridge gaps if any, taking part to celebrate happy occasions with the same spirit. For Mohammed, the relatives of grooms and brides have similar wishes for their newlyweds, regardless of ethnicity. Sitting in the heart of Hyderabad City, which Sindhis call Hyder Chowk and Urdu-speaking people call Dua (prayer) Chowk after the recent installation of a monument by the city government, these Manganhars can be seen practicing to attract their clients. They originally belong to villages in Sindh, and have found attractive jobs in the city. Mohammed said now only the poor and middle-class people invite them to festivities now. "The rich, regardless of ethnicity, have nothing to do with Shahnais, drumbeats and wedding songs and dances," he said.

A conscious citizen, who was reluctant to be named, calls Manganhars the bridge uniting people of different entities living in the city. Such a political move may kill the entire culture and equation, which the common people of all the sections do not like at any cost, he added. For him, not only groups of Manganhars but even some urban professional musical instrument players enthral people at happy occasions through particular rhythms of popular Sindhi songs such as "Ashiq Majboor Aa Bhale Kedo bi Kandhar Huje." (The lover is always at the mercy of the beloved).

Saner elements still believe that the division of united Hyderabad into four districts five years ago was a conspiracy to benefit some urban elite. The Pervez Musharraf government divided the old district on ethnic grounds, rather than administrative ones. 'If there was no malafide intention behind this division, why did the then-government provide a Rs10.5 billion development package to the Hyderabad district government which already has sufficient infrastructure? The other districts notified equally despite the fact that they did not have infrastructure should have been benefited with such packages,' they say. This is also an argument which supporters of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government have floated to justify their stand. They ask why the package was announced for a small part of Hyderabad, depriving districts Jamshoro, Tando Allahyar, Tando Mohammed Khan, Qambar and Kashmore. "Not a single water tap was donated to the residents of the suburbs of Hyderabad. Women living in Panhwar Goth, adjacent to Latifabad near the Hyderabad Airport, still go to the dried River Indus bed, digging two- to three-feet-deep well and just wait for seepage to fill earthen jars and containers daily, because scattered ponds in the river bed have turned poisonous," some of them told Kolachi.

The current district Hyderabad is divided in to four Talukas and the city government allegedly only takes care of a particular community, launching uplift projects in their areas and ignoring other two Talukas. It is time for the ruling PPP to justify its manifesto and slogans such as "bread, clothing and shelter".

In this connection, Kolachi has learnt that apart from Panhwar Goth, women from several other villages under the jurisdiction of the Hyderabad City District Government visit nearby canals for washing clothes and fetching water for their domestic use, because they have not benefited from the large package received the city district government. Similar is the position of localities which fall under the jurisdiction of other two Talukas, which are mostly Sindhi-speaking. They are not only ignored by the city government, the PPP also seems reluctant to own them after coming into power. PPP legislators may have strong reasons, but on one occasion when certain civil society activists drew their attention towards these issues and advised them to accommodate displaced Hari (peasant) families at discarded government land near Hyderabad to strengthen PPP constituency, one of them replied: "These people are committed followers of the Bhuttos. They have sacrificed a lot, and the government has other options for putting the country out of crisis."

"If we think about the claims of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) of helping the poor, regardless of their ethnicity, what do we make of this visible ignorance," the people ask. They are critical of the ruling coalition, including the PPP and the MQM, and believe that each has its own agenda which is dividing people and depriving them of their basic rights.

Another common source of getting water is through a filter plant at Jamshoro Bridge on the River Indus which crosses many Sindhi localities before reaching various parts of the city to quench the thirst of people living there.

Recalling the past, the citizens of these areas say that after 1988, when the first Benazir Bhutto-led PPP government came to power and bloody riots began, the city was divided into pieces and people were put on the defensive. All roads were deserted and nobody dared to visit the city markets. The famous Paka Qila Operation, which MQM condemns and PPP and others justify also took place during this time. This hatred took more years to heal the wounds of an imposed enmity. The people still recall the days when rickshaw drivers belonging to other areas of the city were reluctant to make a trip to Qasimabad and the same fear was felt in the another side. When the people of the city started to come close to each other, the Mussharraf government hatched a conspiracy to divide them and use this division as a political weapon.

The citizens, however, do not like the divide, while politically, the Makhdooms of Hala have faced a loss because they had ruled over the united district with their traditional tribal allies for a long time. Now their political rivals and some other feudal families - the Jamot, Magsi, Syed and and Sarhandi - have got their political share. Regardless, the PPP should launch uplift schemes for the ignored parts where people do not have access to potable water, safe roads and sanitation.