All sizzle, no steak?
Those who had hoped Altaf Hussain would come prepared to argue his case against the concrete charges levelled by Zulfiqar Mirza were dismayed to watch his media conference. The long winded exercise supposedly convinced only the diehard MQM activists.
The emphasis was on appeasing the army and reassuring the Supreme Court. This was considered necessary after the ISI provided a detailed briefing to the SC on the who’s who in the murder business in Karachi. Altaf had enough time at his disposal to answer the charges that he had offered the services of his party to the US for the break up of Pakistan and to Britain to help dismantle the ISI. As if offering to restart with a clean slate, the MQM chief presented the services of his activists to the army to foil the ‘plans’ by unspecified international powers to dismember the country. Altaf suddenly discovered that it was necessary to offer clarifications to the SC at this juncture over the May 12 incident which is not under discussion presently on any forum. He put all the blame for the killings on his political rivals. He combined the reassurance with the disturbing remark that there could be reaction from the MQM if the apex court delivered a verdict against it.
Altaf made serious charges against his political opponents without presenting a shred of evidence in support of his claims. He said the ANP had received millions of dollars from the US, accused Nawaz Sharif of withdrawing troops from Kargil under the US pressure, and Jamaat-e-Islami of paying the MQM(H) members to open fire on MQM workers on May 12. He even accused the media which aired his more than three hour long speech without any breaks, of giving undue coverage to his critics.
What despaired many was Altaf’s response to a question regarding a possible division of Sindh. He maintained that ‘disillusioned workers could come up with any demand any time’. Equally provocative was his remark that if he was not a leader, he would have ‘ventured out to the place (Lyari) and killed some people before sacrificing my life.’ His rhetorical question to party workers whether they were ready to storm any place where the Mohajirs were kept was equally unfortunate. Those who expected that there would be a change of heart in Altaf must have been disappointed.