Bhai is in trouble once again, giving many of us an occasion to rejoice. However, as Pakistan’s fourth largest political party, packed with tons of TNT, unravels and disintegrates, all of us should have a reason to worry instead.
It was Altaf Hussain’s rabble-rousing speeches that gave birth to a new ethnic group –Mohajirs – and a new political party to represent the new ethnic consciousness. Ironically, it is his runaway oratory that has put the very survival of his party at risk. His recent speeches appear at odds with the party’s narrative – holding that Urdu-speaking Muslim of the Gangetic valley played a crucial role in the foundation of Pakistan – rather they were the founders of Pakistan – and as children of the founders of Pakistan, Mohajirs deserved a privileged treatment. Why has he suddenly adopted a position that suits a separatist group, not a major political party, representing an ethnic groups that leads the pack in all socio-economic indicators? Is there a method to this madness?
The MQM is a strange creature with a unique history that can be divided broadly into three periods: from its foundation in 1985 to Pervez Musharraf’s coup in October 1999, from 1999 to 2015 and from 2015 onwards. The MQM was born from the womb of a student group, the All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation (APMSO) at the University of Karachi (KU) founded in 1978 by Altaf Hussain and Azeem Ahmed Tariq. The group challenged and uprooted Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) from the campus and in the process learnt many skills from its enemy. The JI’s organisational structure is based on the model of the communist party while its student wing has mastered the art of occupying a campuses through soft speeches and hard tactics. The MQM was able to apply the technique to the whole city of Karachi as soon as it got the opportunity.
The MQM is run through parallel organisational structures. Its political wing is responsible for public relations and image-building while its bureaucratic or management setup keeps an eye on the performance of the elected representatives, maintains a system of taxation and controls the militant wing that could turn the city into a violent or a peaceful mode on the touch of a button.
During its youthful days in the 1990s, the MQM fought a prolonged fratricidal turf wars with its doppelganger – the MQM Haqiqi. It enjoyed power in Karachi and in Islamabad where both major parties, the PPP and the PML-N, often needed its support in a hung parliament. For a good part of this period, the party was considered close to the establishment that needed it to keep the two major parties in line. During the 1990s, the MQM also came into conflict with the governments and faced two major police and military operations.
Just when it appeared that the back of MQM’s militant wing had been broken and the party had lost its sting, it entered its golden era with Musharraf’s coup in 1999. During Musharraf’s rule, the MQM was able to annihilate its rival Haqiqi faction and dozens of police officers who had participated in operations against the MQM were mysteriously murdered. During this period, the MQM was also able to muzzle the press completely and firmly establish its ‘system of taxation’.
As Musharraf’s period ended and democracy was revived, the MQM’s technology had gone viral. Sunni Tehreek, PPP, ANP and a number of small groups turned into crude variants of the MQM in Karachi. After decades of allowing private armies to thrive, the state has finally resolved to put an end to political violence (or so it appears) and large crime syndicates as the National Action Plan was adopted in 2015.
The MQM’s current dilemma is rooted in its failure to adjust with the changed political and social realities. Despite the MQMs best effort to maintain Karachi’s demographic balance in its favour, Karachi’s population has more than doubled since 2000 mainly due to the influx of migrants from other parts of the country. Both the political and military leadership have become weary of violence after a decade of terrorism. It appears that the MQM’s London-based leaders and Altaf Hussain are caught in a time warp.
While Bhai is being Bhai, the world around him has changed. Six years before he founded the MQM, Altaf Hussain was arrested in 1979 for allegedly burning the Pakistani flag. On November 5, 2004, when his party was ruling Karachi through the second best mayor in the world, Mustafa Kamal, and had sizable representation in the provincial and national government, he declared at a conference in India: “The division of the subcontinent was the biggest blunder...it was not the division of land, it was the division of blood …. I appeal to the politicians here to forgive the people who left and let them return.”
According to India newspapers, Altaf Hussain repeated the same request in a meeting with the Indian foreign minister, Natwar Singh. “Mr Hussain requested that his supporters, the Mohajirs, be granted Long Term Visas (LTV) to live in India. He also requested the Indians to show leniency when considering such cases, especially of the Mohajir community, if they are legally entitled to get the Indian citizenship.” However, the minister of state for home affairs, S Reghupati spurned the request and told an Indian newspaper: “Such proposals are not viable or practical, and Mr Hussain himself understands it.”
Altaf Hussain appears to have returned to an earlier theme, in a more vigorous manner without realising how much has changed, forcing the MQM’s Karachi based leadership to distance themselves from their leader. This brings us to the most repeated question on the issue: can the party dissociate from Altaf Hussain and hope to survive?
The MQM is based on the charisma and the personality cult of Altaf Hussain. A generation of his followers have grown up with his legend. The MQM Pakistan desperately needs his photo on their posters and ownership of his shrine when he leaves. Unfortunately, this is possible only if Bhai turns into a hermit and takes a vow of silence. Since such behaviour does not match with his personality, the new MQM will have to stand in opposition to its founder and a minefield lies on their path.
The recent operation has degraded the administrative wing of the party that runs the militant wing and controls the “taxation” structure of the party. However, we do not know how many militants remains on the run who can be activated by the London office. Once the political wing of the party becomes independent, Altaf Hussain can give his full attention to the party’s militant wing and on instigating the youth. The key to peace in Karachi is in the hands of the New Scotland Yard.
The writer is a social anthropologist and development professional.
Email: zaighamkhanyahoo.com
Twitter: zaighamkhan