For the second time in the new Sindh Assembly, outgoing chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim was pelted with shoes, stones and abuses and had to be escorted by security guards even while seated in the house pending his oath as a new MPA. As soon as he took the oath amid intense slogans, he was made to sign the members’ roll while seated and then left in a hush, with angry Sindhi men and women chasing him in the PA corridors, some with shoes in hands. The pictures on TV screens were stunning as his car was stoned when speeding out of the PA premises. Sanity returned to the house when he was gone except for the MQM walkout on the issue. The PA galleries were again full of uninvited guests and the outgoing speaker was helpless. Even PPP leaders could not control the shouting crowds, full of anger and emotions, especially when a red rag like Arbab Ghulam Rahim was sitting.

While it is highly deplorable that the sanctity of the house was violated and Arbab Rahim was subjected to undesirable abuse and harassment, regretted later sensibly by the new speaker Nisar Khuhro, the episode reflects the mood of the Sindhis after eight years of autocratic rule by people like Arbab Rahim and other collaborators of the military regime. It reaffirms the extreme hatred, anger and vengeance ordinary Sindhis have for people under whose rule the PPP lost many of its workers, was subjected to endless persecution, its leaders were hounded, harassed and tortured and finally the ultimate leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. The PPP leadership has played a mature and pacifying role ever since Benazir’s death and has led the party to a resounding election victory, yet the emotions of the people have not cooled down. The slogan of democracy being the best revenge may be good for the literate and the intellectually elevated, but the common folks still want to get even, some even physically, for whatever they had to endure for 12 long years. It is almost certain that whenever people like Arbab Rahim come into contact with a PPP crowd or a mob, whether on the streets or inside the assembly, it would be difficult to control them, unless some kind of political, behavioural and psychological healing is done to bring their sentiments down. Probably till then, life for all the Arbab Rahims in Sindh will remain rough.

But the more serious message this recurring episode carries is for the PPP leadership. The mood of Sindh is not to appease, collaborate with, support, tolerate or provide a safe passage to dictators, past or present. The military regime or its collaborators, especially after Benazir Bhutto’s death, are symbols of oppression for the common Sindhis and any tacit or even discreet cooperation or collaboration, even under the high-sounding umbrella of national reconciliation, will be looked at with deep suspicion and anger. When the PPP leadership goes out of its way, in the name of reconciliation, the supporters want to see what they are getting in return. The universal sentiment demands that the state, or the establishment, apologize for the judicial murder of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and that the UN be called in to probe Benazir’s murder. This only reflects an urgent need for a quid pro quo. So far the PPP is the only political entity extending olive branches, exchanging Sindhi caps, declaring known enemies as brothers and showing readiness to share power with past tormenters and persecutors. Reciprocity from the state, the establishment and past foes has yet to be seen in the same form and substance as offered by the PPP. Sindh will not easily forget the agony and distress it has been subjected to for years until they tangibly see what they are offered in return for the reconciliation. This will remain a major challenge for the PPP leadership to achieve.

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