Same coin

The unedifying mudslinging match between Pak Sarzameen Party chief Mustafa Kamal and Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad began when Kamal accused the governor of taking bribes and being in contact with Altaf Hussain. Ebad retorted by blaming Kamal for the violence on May 12       and the Baldia Town factory fire. Kamal then fired back with another outburst in which he said Ebad was the guilty party in both these violent events. It didn’t take any time at all for the whole affair to descend to the gutter. The language Kamal used against Ebad was base and deplorable, which has unfortunately always been the case with him. Ebad himself need not be defended since he can give as good as he gets but the entire spectacle, sparked by Kamal, showed our politics at its absolute worst. Matters weren’t helped by the media mostly playing their paroxysms of rage on a loop in a clear attempt to titillate viewers. The actual substance of the allegations being hurled requires some unpacking since there are kernels of truth mixed in with heaps of disingenuousness. When Kamal accuses Ebad of being close to Altaf he is correct that the governor, who has been in office since 2002, had a close relationship with the founder of the party. But exactly the same accusation can be levelled at Kamal, whose tenure as mayor of Karachi was marked by frequent paeans to the greatness of Altaf Hussain. For well over a decade they were at the centre of power in a city that was wracked by politically-motivated violence. No party was as willing as the MQM to use violence as a political tool at the time when the likes of Ebad and Kamal were in charge. When they accuse each other of being involved in the May 12          violence and the Baldia Town factory fire they are both correct. What is even worse is how shameless both are. Ebad proudly declares that as governor he is a member of the establishment. In saying that he is not only indicting himself but our entire political system. Kamal’s crude behaviour shows him to be equally unsavoury. They both are spot on in their description of each other’s character but seem to lack the self-awareness to realise they are no better themselves.

Mustafa Kamal’s obvious aim in linking Ebad to Altaf Hussain was to create the impression that MQM-Pakistan and MQM-London are still one and the same and any divisions are meant for public consumption. But it has become clear over the last few weeks that MQM-London has as much in common with the real MQM in Karachi as the PSP has with the MQM. The London party has been decisively cast aside by the MQM. Ironically, it is the MQM which continues to suffer arrests and raids and is still being blamed for Altaf Hussain’s behaviour even as those who publicly support him are allowed to come to the country and move around freely. The MQM has done all that was asked of it in getting rid of Altaf Hussain and yet it is still facing daily harassment. This has led to both tension and confusion, as no one is sure who will be targeted and for what reason. Just take the resurrection of the    May 12          and Baldia Town cases. The very people pushing these cases are those who were supporting the MQM when these crimes were committed. They pick and drop such cases based on the level of their antagonism towards the MQM rather than any desire to provide justice to the poor and marginalised who were the true victims of these crimes. Karachi’s politics right now is at a crossroads. The PSP promised to be an alternative to the MQM but Kamal has shown just how degraded it is. There is and should be no constitutional space in Karachi for the so-called MQM-London. It is the MQM-‘Pakistan’ which has made the decision to ditch Altaf Hussain and it now needs to be given the room to function. This does not mean letting them off the hook for past and future crimes but for them to be treated fairly. Should they not be allowed to govern, the only alternative is going to be the sight of a population being held hostage by politics engineered from above and the violence that has always been associated with such politics.