Enough to rock MQM’s boat?
Former mayor of Karachi, Mustafa Kamal, who once was a poster boy of MQM, has returned to Pakistan with a ballistic press conference under just as suspicious circumstances as he left the country.
Citing MQM Chief Altaf Hussain’s ‘deception’ to be the reason of him leaving, he criticised him severely. He held Altaf responsible for mishandling Karachi’s largest party. He added that Altaf speaks to the workers while he is high on alcohol and the Rabita Committee has to bear the brunt of his irresponsible words.
Accompanied by Anees Qaimkhani, he announced the formation of his own party, of which he hasn’t decided the name yet.
While talking about 2013 elections, he said PTI gaining significant votes was a shocker for the party but instead of mending his ways, Altaf Hussain started abusing PTI workers who were protesting at Teen Talwar.
He failed to maintain his composure and started crying halfway through his two-hour long speech, which was broadcast uninterrupted by most channels. Kamal added that Rabita Committee is stuck with Altaf’s tantrums and has been tasked to repair the damages being done by him.
Repeating various claims about MQM having links with Indian intelligence agency, RAW, he said: “Everyone knows Altaf has links with RAW.” He added that all senior members of MQM were aware of party getting funds from RAW for the last 20 years.
In a move to attract the Muhajir community, Kamal said, “No one is a born RAW funded agent.” He appealed to the Pakistani public, requesting not to hate all of the Muhajir ethnicity.
Kamal left Pakistan under mysterious circumstances in August 2013. Then a Senator of MQM, he cited personal reasons for going out of the country. He later resigned from his position as a Senator and started working in Dubai for Bahria Town.
His sudden return to the political scene with a full blown attack against Altaf Hussain, especially after the Rangers Operation, which has been specifically targeting MQM raises many eyebrows.
Many believe the establishment is working hard to bring alternative political forces in Karachi. Earlier this year Uzair Baloch was produced before a court under equally suspicious circumstances, which experts believe was a bid to sideline PPP.
“On the face of it, this seems a ploy of the establishment to implement its plan using the minus one formula,” said Mubashir Zaidi, a prominent journalist.
“They had been working on him for the past three years to present him as an alternative leader of MQM but instead have agreed upon establishing a new party altogether,” he added.
People are curious about Kamal’s return and the way he has openly challenged Altaf Hussain, who once was invincible. The establishment has softened up the position of MQM by arresting its members and creating an atmosphere against the party.
However, Zaidi believes he wouldn’t succeed in putting a dent in MQM’s popularity – at least for a while.
After 2013 elections, when PTI fetched a significant amount of MQM votes in Karachi, it was said to be the establishment’s favourite as an alternate to MQM.
Zaidi said it’s an ongoing game but they haven’t succeeded in putting a formidable force against MQM yet.
“They helped PML-N penetrate into Karachi too but didn’t succeed. After his return, Musharraf was to be the alternative but since he’s aged and had health issues, he wasn’t considered a viable option. Then comes Mustafa Kamal,” he added.
When I asked him if playing the RAW card against MQM works anymore, Zaidi said, “People of Karachi have been hearing this for ages and they don’t seem to care anymore.”
Answering if the Muhajir vote bank will heed Mustafa Kamal, Zaidi said: “He is not in the position of Afaq Ahmed because he has not been in the party for the last three years and whatever leverage he had was lost during this time period.”
Commenting on the involvement of the military establishment behind the resurfacing of Kamal, political analyst Wajahat Masood said that by book, they are not allowed to interfere in politics.
“Neither should they start a party, nor should they have the right to destroy one because this is not their role,” Masood said.
Wajahat thinks Mustafa Kamal has zero chances of success in the current political scenario. “He doesn’t have any narrative and drives totally on his campaign against Altaf, which is not a good enough reason to gain political mileage,” he sais.
Kamal hasn’t announced the name of his party yet and chose the flag of Pakistan to be its emblem, which according to the Election Commission, is not allowed.
Criticising the role of the establishment in imposing its narrative on the minds of people, Masood said: “Previously such gameplays would succeed for quite some time – like what happened with MMA. Today, these games don’t seem to be succeeding because Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan did their best to derail democracy but they both failed.”
He asserted that these forces should not play with the collective intelligence of the Pakistani nation.
Experts have also criticised Kamal’s claims of MQM being funded by RAW for the past 20 years. Masood thinks that if Kamal knew for 20 years that RAW was helping MQM, why didn’t he report that to authorities earlier?
“It seems like he was informed about RAW’s involvement right after he landed in Dubai in 2013,” Masood joked.
With the impression of military backing, Mustafa Kamal’s reintroduction will not affect the MQM or dent its vote bank, said Zia Ur Rehman, a Karachi-based journalist.
”Although there is a lot of turmoil within the MQM and some leaders want to move away from the party’s militant past and ongoing style of working, the party could not survive without Altaf who still enjoys support from lower-middle class of Muhajir community in Karachi and Hyderabad”, he said.
Rehman also said that there was a huge political vacuum in Karachi which no other political party was willing or able to fill.