The general in his labyrinth
He of the nine lives has had quite a few close calls ever since he started out in politics decades ago. But the noose, it seems, is tighter this time. The London police seem to be serious about their business. And, as per reports from the BBC, British authorities have sought two suspects from Pakistan in connection with the Imran Farooq murder case.
Matters compounding the case are the peculiar nature of the MQM itself. It seems that the authorities there have finally wizened up to what is common knowledge in Pakistan. They did some research into the MQM phenomenon.
The British, being British, are mostly aghast at the peculiar language of Altaf Hussain at his telephonic rallies. Here, they are being unfair. The English might have mastered the devastating use of wry understatement, others haven’t. To their sensibilities, any political rhetoric from our part of the world would seem thuggish, even though the MQM’s might be pushing the already expansive envelope. The Urdu language expert hired by the authorities should pronounce the same judgment.
Then there is the issue of large amounts of unaccounted for cash found at the party’s headquarters in London, leading to the possibility that they might Al Capone the fellow.
But the reality of the affair is open for anyone in the city of Karachi to see. The party seems to have thwarted the positive framework of the state. Party officials in the iron grid framework of ‘units’ that cover the city are more powerful than the elected representatives of the constituencies that lie over them. The party’s revenue collection methodologies have served as an inspiration to the other, newer players in the city.
As per the details of the case under question, no incriminating proof, of sorts, has yet been released by the authorities. But, if the party’s past history is to be taken a look at, dissidents aren’t really shrugged off and taken in stride.
The MQM has taken predictable lines, albeit ones that don’t seem to have been planned through. Party officials have been claiming that the BBC, for instance, has been infiltrated by Taliban elements. This has been the party’s one-size-fits-all defence of late within the country, directed even against the party that has been the biggest victim of the Taliban, the ANP.
In any case, any development is going to be problematic for the powder keg that is Karachi.
