The new local government law in Sindh continues to cause unrest. Things took an ugly turn early Tuesday morning when residences of at least six PPP leaders, including provincial assembly Speaker Nisar Khurho, were bombed by the so-called Sindhudesh Liberation Army. Luckily, no one was hurt. In fact all the explosive devises were low intensity, intended not to cause casualties but to register protest against the new local government law.
Various nationalist parties - including Awami Tehrik, Sindh Tarraqi Pasand Party, and Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (B) - which have rejected the law and are busy organising another protest rally for October 16, (their workers threw bangles, by way of taunt, at some PPP leaders' homes during an earlier demonstration) have strongly condemned the attacks, calling them a plot to undermine their peaceful campaign to have the law repealed.
Arguably, the government could have handled the issue better. The ruling party in the province gave its detractors a stick to beat it with when it first introduced the controversial law via an ordinance, and then steamrollered a bill through the provincial assembly, without first putting it, as per normal practice, for discussion and deliberation in the relevant assembly committee, or allowing much opportunity for debate in the House. The nationalists would still have agitated and the self-styled Sindhudesh Army would have done its deed, but the government could claim higher moral ground.
Although, this 'army' has been engaged in some low-level sabotage activity in the province, it is generally regarded as no more than an insignificant bunch of disgruntled elements who vent their parochial sentiments every once in a while. Yet, the attacks cannot be easily brushed aside, all the more so considering that a few days ago six PPP activists and a journalist were killed in a gun assault on a public meeting in Khairpur, chief minister Qaim Ali Shah's hometown, where his daughter MNA Nafeesa Shah was scheduled to speak. So far no one has been arrested despite police chief's claim that the police knew who the perpetrators were, and would nab them soon. These incidents portend danger. The 'Sindhudesh army', may have been a minor nuisance so far, but not after what has been happening in the province during the last few days. Like in Balochistan, there may be interested outsiders wanting to exploit the situation for the furtherance of their own ends. The police are said to have caught a man as he tried to flee after placing a bomb outside the Sindh Assembly Speaker's Larkana residence. That should make it easy to track down others involved. The targets being influential leaders of the ruling party, the police are expected to show efficiency. The government must also take a serious look at radical groups of trouble makers, and do all that is necessary to nip in the bud any violent agenda they may have.