Wait, what?

Hidden in the midst of the grand after-party that followed the explosive press conference by Mustafa Kamal was a seemingly innocent tweet by the PTI’s Jahangir Khan Tareen. A positive tweet praising Mustafa Kamal.

That makes sense. PTI leader Imran Khan has been at loggerheads with the MQM since sometime now and naturally, his party members would have approved of the recent anti-Altaf Hussein presser.

However, Tareen’s choice of words led to a scuffle of sorts within the ranks.

I welcome Mustafa Kamal’s reentry to Karachi politics. It will provide a civilized Altntv to the Khi community following AH all these years

— Jahangir Khan Tareen (@JahangirKTareen) March 3, 2016

The tweet reads: “I welcome Mustafa Kamal’s reentry to Karachi politics. It will provide a civilised Altntv to the Khi community following AH all these years.”

This was an immediate red rag to the PTI’s Karachi machine. The party’s Ali Zaidi shot back, again on Twitter, asking him whose side Tareen was; instead of saying that Imran Khan’s stance had been vindicated and that the PTI was the civilised alternative, he is propping up Mustafa Kamal.

@JahangirKTareen Instd of saying tht our stand is vindicated u tweet this? @PTIofficial was/is the civilized alternative! Who’s side r u on?

— Ali Haider Zaidi (@AliHZaidiPTI) March 3, 2016

This led to a spat in the famously rabid PTI online fanbase. Tareen maintained some silence while those perceived to be in his camp came out against Zaidi.

In the tripwire that is Karachi politics, it has started a fight between those only tangentially related to the issue at hand. What next? A fight between the members of the Baloch National Movement over Mustafa Kamal’s statements.

But as a study of the media, it is interesting how intra-party spats are immediately and effectively conveyed to the public at large, that too from direct sources, rather than being relayed in Khawateen Digest style by local political reporters.