MQM’s stance

The party needs to revise its strategy

MQM’s recourse to religion to get even with Khurshid Shah is a step which could have been avoided in the first place had it not been focused on getting some political mileage out of a situation that wasn’t even there to begin with. As it happened, a blasphemy case was launched against the Leader of the Opposition for calling ‘Mohajir’ a derogatory term. Ulema were asked why they had not raised the issue through the pulpit. Sunday was declared a black day. A day earlier, 30 TV channels remained offline in Karachi and Hyderabad cities as a result of pressure exerted on cable operators.

With its vehement support of the mohajirs and its latest stance that it is representative of all the mohajirs, MQM has taken a step back from its transition of becoming a mainstream party. Its demand for a separate province is equally questionable. One can easily question the party’s stance on making Karachi a separate province when it grew out of a settlement of Sindhi fishermen, developed initially by Parsis, Hindus and Sindhi Muslims and after 1947 by people from all over the country. Claiming exclusivity on the city for the mohajirs cannot be justified.

While Khurshid Shah has apologised for the remarks he said he had made with good intentions, it would have been better if they were not made at all. However, after his apology the matter should have ended there. Perhaps MQM was disturbed by the PPP’s large public meeting in Karachi and the strident tone adopted by Bilawal Bhutto regarding MQM’s demand of the division of Sindh. Hoping the PPP would retract, MQM resigned from the provincial Cabinet. Unlike the past this did not produce the desired result and MQM then escalated the confrontation by announcing a black day.

It remains to be seen whether Bilawal Bhutto continues his tone or reverts to the earlier policy of conciliation with all and sundry. Meanwhile MQM needs to realise that criticism on its stance is offered in good faith; it is not meant to discredit the identity of the mohajirs who have equal rights under the constitution. A recourse to shutdowns in the industrial hub of the country amounts to inflicting irreparable loss to the economy. In fact it is much more injurious than terrorist attacks on gas pipelines, power pylons and railway tracks. Activities of the sort would alienate the MQM further.