The election that broke the MQM
By M. A. Niazi | Published: July 1, 2011
The election in Azad Kashmir was given due importance, but not more than any previous election, and certainly no one expected one of its outcomes to be the departure of the MQM from the ruling coalition, over one of the Karachi seats of the AJK Legislative Assembly, which has 12 seats elected by refugees and migrants settled in Pakistan. This has created a political crisis for the coalition, which is now dependent on the support of the PML-Q to stay in office. The PML-Q itself faces a dilemma. Staying in office means central office, not office where it needs it most, in the Punjab, where it seems to have lost half of its strength to deserters, the so-called Unification Bloc, which does not want to be in opposition, and instead wants to join the government at any cost. The PPP alliance cost the PML-Q some parliamentary members, but it is the MQM which has given it the veto power over the PPP. Of course, the PPP at any time may decide that the time is now ripe for general elections, and it is likely, if left undisturbed, to dissolve only near the end of its term.
Previously, ever since the MQM came on the political scene, its departure has always meant the fall of the government. It has always formed part of the government, though it has never been a balancing force, in the sense that its departure would mean the fall of the government. The speed of its departure also indicated that the decision to leave had been taken already, and the MQM was merely searching for an appropriate excuse. Therefore, the AJK elections do not really provide an example of the tail wagging the dog, but are placed once again as a relatively minor election.
The AJK elections are betwixt and between, because AJK is a Free State, which means it is neither an independent country, nor a constituent of the Pakistani federation. It has its own constitution, unlike the other constituents of Pakistan, whose constitutions are not independent documents, but included in the Constitution of Pakistan. The Constitution of AJK was patterned on the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan, and escaped the Eighth Amendment. Therefore, in an era where Pakistan had a sort of neither presidential, nor prime ministerial Constitution, AJK had a firmly prime ministerial, something which was only regained by Pakistan through the Eighteenth Amendment.
However, its elections have proceeded regularly since the elections which President Ziaul Haq conducted in 1985, as a result of which Sardar Qayyum became President of Azad Kashmir and Sardar Sikandar Hayat PM. The next elections, in 1990, were under the first PPP government, and saw the AJKPP gaining a majority, with Mumtaz Hussain Rathore becoming PM. The pattern was established of the PML ensuring a Muslim Conference win, and the PPP the AJKPP. The result has been an alternation of governments which appears to have been maintained with the win in the last election of the Muslim Conference, but that time with Sardar Qayyum giving way to his son, Sardar Attique Ahmad. This marked a generational change for Sardar Qayyum was virtually the last of the old freedom fighters still inactive politics. However, there was a split within the party, and Sardar Attique fell from office, but made a return with PPPs support. At the same time, the PML-N chose this moment of Conference disarray to make its way into the AJK politics.
This news was published in print paper. To access the complete paper of this day. click here(http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-...s/01-Jul-2011/The-election-that-broke-the-MQM)
By M. A. Niazi | Published: July 1, 2011
The election in Azad Kashmir was given due importance, but not more than any previous election, and certainly no one expected one of its outcomes to be the departure of the MQM from the ruling coalition, over one of the Karachi seats of the AJK Legislative Assembly, which has 12 seats elected by refugees and migrants settled in Pakistan. This has created a political crisis for the coalition, which is now dependent on the support of the PML-Q to stay in office. The PML-Q itself faces a dilemma. Staying in office means central office, not office where it needs it most, in the Punjab, where it seems to have lost half of its strength to deserters, the so-called Unification Bloc, which does not want to be in opposition, and instead wants to join the government at any cost. The PPP alliance cost the PML-Q some parliamentary members, but it is the MQM which has given it the veto power over the PPP. Of course, the PPP at any time may decide that the time is now ripe for general elections, and it is likely, if left undisturbed, to dissolve only near the end of its term.
Previously, ever since the MQM came on the political scene, its departure has always meant the fall of the government. It has always formed part of the government, though it has never been a balancing force, in the sense that its departure would mean the fall of the government. The speed of its departure also indicated that the decision to leave had been taken already, and the MQM was merely searching for an appropriate excuse. Therefore, the AJK elections do not really provide an example of the tail wagging the dog, but are placed once again as a relatively minor election.
The AJK elections are betwixt and between, because AJK is a Free State, which means it is neither an independent country, nor a constituent of the Pakistani federation. It has its own constitution, unlike the other constituents of Pakistan, whose constitutions are not independent documents, but included in the Constitution of Pakistan. The Constitution of AJK was patterned on the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan, and escaped the Eighth Amendment. Therefore, in an era where Pakistan had a sort of neither presidential, nor prime ministerial Constitution, AJK had a firmly prime ministerial, something which was only regained by Pakistan through the Eighteenth Amendment.
However, its elections have proceeded regularly since the elections which President Ziaul Haq conducted in 1985, as a result of which Sardar Qayyum became President of Azad Kashmir and Sardar Sikandar Hayat PM. The next elections, in 1990, were under the first PPP government, and saw the AJKPP gaining a majority, with Mumtaz Hussain Rathore becoming PM. The pattern was established of the PML ensuring a Muslim Conference win, and the PPP the AJKPP. The result has been an alternation of governments which appears to have been maintained with the win in the last election of the Muslim Conference, but that time with Sardar Qayyum giving way to his son, Sardar Attique Ahmad. This marked a generational change for Sardar Qayyum was virtually the last of the old freedom fighters still inactive politics. However, there was a split within the party, and Sardar Attique fell from office, but made a return with PPPs support. At the same time, the PML-N chose this moment of Conference disarray to make its way into the AJK politics.
This news was published in print paper. To access the complete paper of this day. click here(http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-...s/01-Jul-2011/The-election-that-broke-the-MQM)
