MQM blinks, finally

After a well-rehearsed, but failed, strategy

In his confrontation with the Supreme Court, Altaf Husain has finally beaten a retreat. Reversing his previous belligerent stance, on Tuesday he directed the party’s coordination committees in London and Karachi, and leaders of zones, sectors, units and different wings to cancel all scheduled demonstrations against the SC’s decision to call him on contempt charges. He asked them to show patience and refrain from using inappropriate language against the judiciary. He appealed to MQM workers not to go to the Supreme Court on 7th January, which was in fact a decision of the party, and urged them to respect the sanctity of the court. He insisted that only legal and constitutional experts from the party should attend the court. “I do not want the sanctity of the court to be violated and I do not want to pursue the path of confrontation,” said the MQM chief.

This was a big come down from the earlier confrontational posture of the MQM after Altaf Hussain’s telephonic address to party workers on December 2. The address contained highly derogatory remarks about the SC judges and also carried veiled threats of lawlessness in Karachi if action was not taken against the justices who had ordered the delimitation of constituencies. “To improve the law and order, it is important that such judges are expelled or the Chief Justice should take suo motu action… If the chief justice doesn’t take action then the case will go into the peoples’ court,” Altaf Hussain had thundered. He warned the judges to apologise for their remarks against the MQM or their “names will be wiped out”. The MQM’s anger mounted as the CJ did not pay heed to the party chief’s demands and the SC bench dealing with the issue ordered the Election Commission to move apace vis a vis the delimitation of constituencies.

The diatribe led the SC to issue contempt notice on December 14 directing Altaf Hussain to appear in the court on January 7. In his order, the CJ said that he had read the text of the speech and found it to be offensive and threatening. The language used in the speech was tantamount to an attempt to obstruct justice.

The notice led immediately to the well-rehearsed activity in Karachi with “unknown young men” indulging in aerial firing and burning of vehicles. The exercise is considered necessary to ensure that the city closes down the next day. This naturally led the shopkeepers and traders to close their businesses. Food outlets, banks and petrol pumps were also forcibly closed. A similar exercise was repeated in Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar, Nawabshah and Kotri where there were shut downs for fear of mob attacks. The MQM initially denied having called for “protests” and maintained that these were a spontaneous reaction of the population which had great respect for Altaf Husain. The fig leaf was however soon removed.

A couple of days later, the MQM started holding rallies against the SC order. One was led on Sunday personally by Farooq Sattar outside Karachi Press Club where he took the hype a step further. He declared among slogans against the SC, “The people today have given their mandate against this case against Altaf Hussain. And if speaking up for the rights of the people is a contempt of court then we will commit it again.” He further declared that all MQM leaders and the people of Karachi would appear before the apex court on January 7 at the time of the hearing of contempt notice. Subsequently, more rallies were taken out. In places the CJ’s effigies were burnt.

Altaf Husain now openly supported the protests. In a statement from London, he said he valued public sentiments over the SC decision. He maintained that it was a legal and constitutional right of the people to hold peaceful protests. A day later, the MQM leader sent an emotional message to the party workers and sympathisers indicating that he might quit politics if they so advised. “I will submit your opinion to the coordination committee and decide about my future in its light.” This was meant to be an indirect call for more protests in his support and against the SC.

The same day Farooq Sattar ruled out Altaf’s appearance before the apex court. While Altaf Hussain said he was afraid of none, the same day Farooq Sattar declared that his leader would not come to the country because there were threats to his life. He once again reiterated that the remarks by a SC judge against the MQM’s mandate in Karachi were discriminatory, illegal and unconstitutional. Instead of taking action against the judge who used such terms against the mandate of a democratic party, the CJ had issued the contempt of court notice against the MQM boss. Reiterating his party’s stance on delimitation of Karachi’s constituencies, Sattar said singling out Karachi would not be acceptable. “Door-to-door verification of voters should be carried out throughout the country,” criticising the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), he said voters’ verification and delimitation of constituencies was the commission’s task. “If Election Commission can’t take its own decisions…then it should be dissolved.”

MQM had undertaken well-rehearsed exercises of the sort both against its opponents and allies in the past whenever it wanted its demands to be accepted. It invariably succeeded in arm-twisting. The perception was that similar tactics against the SC would produce the desired results.

A day later, MQM was, however, singing a totally different tune.

What forced the party to beat a retreat, the first ever in the last five years?

One possible reason is the refusal by its coalition allies to support it against the SC. The PPP, which is keen to pass the rest of it tenure peacefully, is in no mood to take on the courts. It wouldn’t like its coalition partner to upset the apple cart. Earlier, nearly all political parties had called into question the accuracy of Karachi voters’ lists. Many also supported the delimitation of constituencies in Karachi. The MQM, thus, was totally isolated when Altaf Hussain launched the attack on the SC.

The coalition allies are all seriously engaged in preparations for the elections. None would like any kind of social disturbance that could sabotage the elections. Many would in fact look at moves of the sort with deep suspicion. Similarly, the media is widely supportive of a peaceful transfer of power and does not favour any squabbling or act of brinkmanship that could scuttle it.

While there can be two opinions about the apex court’s frequent use of its contempt powers, on one issue there is a widespread consensus in the country: nothing should be done by any political party that might delay the elections.

The writer is a former academic and a political analyst.