The parting of ways by political bedmates

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has once again parted company with the PPP-led ruling coalition in the Centre and province of Sindh, but not without attracting the charge of déjà vu. Its departure from the corridors of power is stated to be irrevocable, much to the surprise of quite a few who think the provocation, triggering the move, was essentially inconsequential to the larger picture of MQM-PPP relationship.
From now on the MQM will not only be sitting on the opposition benches in the two houses of national parliament and the Sindh assembly, it has also surrendered the office of the governor of Sindh. Add to this the harshness of the expression by the MQM leadership justifying its quitting the ruling coalition and you would discover how bitter the parting of the ways by the two is. The differences over only one seat in the AJK Legislative Assembly, it is said, is too trivial a development as to have caused total collapse of an alliance that had weathered many a furious storm.
No wonder, the MQM's decision to walk out of the coalition is being seen by some political pundits as 'premeditated' - in that the Movement's action is well-thought out with sights set on the future political picture. On the face of it, it has no tangible impact on the MQM's political clout in Azad Kashmir. But it is the manner in which the PPP reportedly tried to grab the Kashmiri diaspora in Karachi that alarmed the Altaf-led party. The MQM seems to have detected a method to this move, which it believes the PPP leadership won't be hesitant to employ in the general elections down the road. If the PPP leadership can shake hands with the 'Qatil League' in its bid to outvote the MQM, what is there to stop it from subverting its alliance with the MQM? From the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's perspective, the PPP has forfeited its trust and the two cannot go any further hand-in-hand. But, perhaps more importantly, it is the matter of accountability as an incumbent of power in Sindh that has forced the MQM to jettison its political companionship with the PPP. Naturally, as an opposition party, the MQM would escape the critical appraisal of the voter at the time of elections.
However, of greater concern is the shape of things to come as the two principal alliance partners part ways and set out to assert their independent positions, a situation with the propensity to bring them into a confrontationist mode. When ANP's Senator Haji Adeel says 'it's all about Karachi, its local bodies, the fresh delimitation of constituencies and the larger issue of who would control Karachi', he may not be wide off the mark. A contentious political future awaits the erstwhile allies indeed. Chained together in an essentially tenuous co-operative relationship, the local leaderships of the MQM and PPP must have spent more time in fire-fighting than in getting to grips with the real issues confronting the people. That little tranquillity and ethnic peace which obtained as long as the coalition was in place is now at serious risk, particularly now that both the MQM and PPP are likely to reassert their presence on the scene mainly by restoring the status quo ante. The worst case scenario could be the PPP's decision to bring back Dr Zulfiqar Mirza and his group backed, as they would be by the ANP.
Of greater concern however is the overall situation in the province of Sindh. The bitter truth is that the province is beset with a clear-cut urban and rural divide that runs deep not only socio-culturally but also politically with concomitant economic complexity. How violently the PPP and MQM differed even as coalition partners on the question of agriculture tax amply mirrors this divide. These two parties have never been on the same page even while occupying the same side of the aisle in the legislative chambers. Now that they have separated, the divide is bound to deepen - to the obvious disadvantage of the MQM, which can never hope to be in majority on its own in the provincial assembly. Unless a way is found out of this dilemma, by ensuring 'appropriate representation' of the MQM at all levels of governance, the provincial harmony in Sindh would remain hostage to conspirators. The PPP-MQM split is much more than a mere coalition break-up and needs to be handled with care and cool mindedly; its mishandling can further undermine peace and harmony of Karachi, paralysing the city, which is the economic hub of the country.