First the almost deafening silence, that smacked of an intent to shy away from the maverick Zulfiqar Mirza’s litany of accusations most damning. Perhaps for the first time in a long time, the MQM’s pugnacious top brass that is usually so fast on the draw (no pun intended) considered that not getting into the fray was the better part of valour, allowing Mirza’s diatribe to fade away in the public eye. That was not to happen.
There was a timid beating-about-the-bush kind of response post-Eid by Faisal Sabzwari, but with the bit between his teeth, Mirza would not be deterred to let go. He had stirred up a storm and the electronic media was lapping it up, and drawing from his enormous cache of documentary evidence, the MirzaLeaks continued unabated, painting the MQM as a treasonous, fascist party that harboured murderers and torturers and which thrived on killing and crime.
The media focus was sharp and repetitive, and the Mirza indefatigable.
Thus after nine days of most eerie quiet, came Mustafa Kamal’s ineloquent, abrasive bombast that was not just rambling but conveniently selective in answering back Mirza’s specific allegations. It was mostly a set of denials which rang hollow, especially the one that revolved around the alleged letter that the MQM’s London-based, British citizen chief had written in 2001, immediately post-9/11, to his Prime Minister Tony Blair, citing the party’s secular stance and credentials and offering a set of services, including bringing Karachi to grinding halt and providing human intelligence in the war on terror, with the quid pro quo that the ISI be defanged to prompt ‘the rise of future Osamas’.
Dubbing the letter a fake, one of Mustafa Kamal’s major planks was that Benazir Bhutto had written a similar one to US Senator Peter Galbraith (whom he could not even correctly name) after her government was removed in 1990. The only problem was that Benazir had never denied that the missive was not hers.
On substantive allegations, Mustafa Kamal was conspicuously silent. These include the antecedents of the notorious Kamran Madhuri (the man must be comfortable in his masculinity to carry off a moniker like that), its involvement in the murder of Geo TV’s reporter Wali Khan Babar and the little matter of extortion and allied antics. But he did sing the famous MQM theme song when in a tight corner, the sob story of the Mohajirs being victimised, followed by the blatant threat that their ‘silence’ not be construed as ‘weakness’, and singling out the media for its ire.
The use of the ‘M’ word, and the ethnic reference, was so frequent that it made one question whether the change of nomenclature to ‘Muttahida’ was now defunct.
Regardless of Zulfiqar Mirza’s motives – whether he did it on his friend and mentor’s bidding or, miffed at his sacking, on his own – the MQM’s predicament is that a wide swathe of the people believe him. Mirza would not have been able to strike such a chord with the citizens across the country, especially in his native Sindh, had the MQM not been what it is.
Now there may be other, similarly ruthless actors reacting to the MQM’s tactics in the same coin, posing a threat to its hegemony on Karachi. Such tactics may be immoral, but what chance of survival would they have in front of the MQM’s resolute pursuit of total control, denying every other entity its rightful representation in constituencies that it considers its realm? And what chance of fair elections where every political party is allowed to contest without the threat of being shadowed by the MQM’s sector commanders (why would a political party with middle class pretensions and boasts of Ganga-Jamuna cultural background, need such a formidable militia?).
The MQM may fret and fume, they may shout themselves hoarse, protesting their innocence but it would be to no avail: its image has received an irreversible dent not only because of the present allegations by Mirza, but because of their none-too-angelic past. This, by the way, is well-known to all, and the MQM has only itself to blame.
Though it was good, thoroughly entertaining theatre with mayhem restricted to the small screen, but with none-too-focused an investigation into the allegations, this latest spat too may still come to naught. What Mirza has revealed after all was mostly from the official record, actually sitting there for some while, and no one was indeed in a hurry to indict anyone. This is not likely to change.
The powers-that-be are said to be ‘concerned’, the Supreme Court is in Karachi and the Rangers have been unleashed to take on ‘the killers and the extortionists without discrimination’. The status quo may yet prevail – and almost every which way. In a spot now, the MQM may wriggle out by walking back into the PPP’s tight embrace – again to depart and draw its pound of flesh when the noose is slightly loosened. The ANP too apparently stands placated by the MQM’s expressions of brotherly coexistence.
The PPP is none too badly off either. It’d be bolstered by the weight of MQM’s votes in the coalition, hoping it would get past March and the Senate elections on a happy and victorious note. And also whether fake or real, Mirza’s tirade has brought another windfall for the PPP: the bristling Sindhi sentiment has been soothed, bumping off Nawaz Sharif’s ambition of aligning with the nationalists there to dent PPP.
The irony is that, if at all, the game changer may yet come from abroad, from England where Scotland Yard is said to be close to resolving Dr Imran Farooq’s mysterious murder. By the way, another allegation that Mirza had left at the MQM and its supremo’s door.
The writer is Sports and Magazines Editor, Pakistan Today.
Zulfiqar Mirza is the classical example of parochial mindset. In fact all Pakistan must try to find out the reason which compelled Zulfiqar Mirza to scream in such way when the rangers launched operation in the area of Lyari of Karachi, what is that which the mirza trying to hide behind this screaming. In fact Z.M. is the leader of such minor group in PPP who is hosting a great grudge and unspoken animosity against the Mohajirs of Sind and want every mohajir to be behind the earth. They are jealous of MQM and Mohajirs that how a span of peace and prosperity was enjoyed by all Mohajirs during the regime of Musharraf, how such a progress was achieved in Karachi and Hyderabad, and how the Mohajirs have got strong economical position, it is just intolerable and unforgivable to them. In fact this group wants Mohajirs as their Subordinate/Subservient/Mehkoom as they have made the simple Sindhies of interior Sindh who are compelled to live under worst oppression and are wretched in every mean.
Z.M. is the part and tool of feudalism in badin every body knows well about him what the person he is. Every body is laughing in Badin on Z.M. every body knows here that he has got no honour for Quran or even a single word of it. Z.M. is going to launch an intensive anarchy and civil war between different segment of society in Sindh he is just nothing except the extension of Mumtaz Bhutto regime. Sooner or later his real designs will be overt. I do think that it is the responsibility of every Pakistani to extinguish the fire which is going to be spread soon in far and wide of the Province of Sindh if the Z.M. is not prevented, he is not against MQM but in fact he is against Pakistan, matter of MQM can be seen later, we must discourage this guy just now. it is high time to save the country from the catastrophe of his insanity.
Everyone know that mqm is not a party but terrorists organization, it is banned by Canadian Supreme Court in its country but unfortunately supreme court of Pakistan is waiting for its decision. Altaf Hussain has killed all the nations. MQM has killed the people of PPP, PML(N), ST, Ji, JSQM, SDP. PTI, ANP MQM(Haqiqi), Punjabis, sindhis, Pukhtoons, Balouchs. Muhajirs(Which are not in MQM), every one is killed by MQM Killers. MQM has also history of clashes with Army, Police, agencies, Supreme court. It is party of Killers.
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