Notwithstanding the assessment and adverse reaction of its detractors, the MQM made a mark by holding an impressive show in Lahore on Sunday as it ventured into mainstream politics. The success came after a hectic effort by its top leadership which spent the last two weeks addressing corner meetings across the city and interacting with a cross-section of society in a bid to garner support and mobilise the crowd for its first public meeting in Punjab.
Mr Altaf Hussains address to the people of the Punjab was reminiscent of the message he had delivered at the time of the inception of the party when he pledged to revolutionise the society by integrating the educated middle class into mainstream politics. The 45-minute speech encompassed everything from making education mandatory and free for all till matriculation, providing basic amenities of life to the poor and downtrodden and bringing about constitutional amendments to liberate the masses from the shackles of the feudal lords and waderas who had been ruling the country since its coming into being. As far as his strong advocacy for upgrading Bahawalpur Division and the areas constituting Seraiki belt as separate provinces is concerned, its not difficult to understand in the wake of massive participation from South Punjab in the rent-a-crowd show of strength. There is no denying that the MQM represented the middle class before transforming itself into a gang which resorted to violent means to establish its dominance in the countrys commercial capital. That it still carries this image was probably the reason why even its major political ally the PPP distanced itself from the rally.
The MQMs decision to enter mainstream politics is welcome but reciprocity demands that other parties should also be allowed to function freely and without fear in Karachi and Hyderabad where it has laid exclusive claims to democratic legitimacy. Its time its leadership learnt to live in peace with others and presented itself as a moderate political force.
