What Mustafa Kamal achieved

Another nail in MQM’s coffin?

A lot has happened in the last five days: Mumtaz Qadri, the killer of former Punjab governor, Salmaan Taseer, finally met his fate; Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy won another Oscar for the country; and in an unanticipated return, Mustafa Kamal rocked the country’s politics. The press conference of Mustafa Kamal, a former senior member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), has launched another political tsunami in the politics of Karachi. Without any doubt, these dramatic events have added another mysterious twist into Karachi’s politics.

By and large, there was not anything new in the accusations heralded by Mustafa Kamal against Altaf Hussain. Such accusations have been raised before on many occasions. Among other things, Kamal alleged that Altaf Hussain confessed to Scotland Yard that the party’s leadership had received support from Indian intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

“All senior MQM leaders are aware that MQM has been taking funds from India’s Raw for 20 years,” Kamal said. But the claim is not new: a few months ago, a BBC report, anchored by a renowned journalist, Own Bennett-Jones, made similar claims. Moreover, declarations about MQM’s involvement in wrecking havoc in the city have also been made before. On various occasions, such accusations have been backed with credible evidence, not just nationally but internationally as well.

This time was not different. Like before, MQM denounced all claims: “It is all totally false and fabricated and it is not the first time. We have seen this since 1992. It is part of the establishment’s conspiracy in Pakistan.” On the next day, a peaceful sit-in was organised to show solidarity with the MQM’s chief.

Mustafa Kamal’s return was not a coincidence and in order to understand the entire situation, recent events and surrounding astronomical accusations and claims need to be put into perspective.

While the highly theatrical press conference of Mustafa Kamal reflected the same pattern which has been tried before to weaken the MQM’s influence over city’s politics, what is novel in the current case is that the establishment has been able to penetrate inside the MQM’s leadership hierarchy. The tactic is to appeal to those loyalists and workers who support the party’s ideology but not the horrific and terror filled approach which is being used to achieve unity and cohesion within the MQM, and maintain influence and political power in the city politics.

All efforts to deplete the MQM’s Mohajir (Urdu speakers) – or refugees who left India at the time of partition to settle in Pakistan – vote have failed before. And the underlining rationale for that is simple: no other party has successfully been able to appeal to the Mohajir community’s concerns. Perhaps plans are afoot to create a new party, from inside the community – and if possible, by dividing MQM.

There is no doubt that a part of the accusations leveled by Mustafa Kamal bear some truth and have been an open secret from some time. However, they have not made any dent in the party’s vote bank, which is its only strength. But similar claims made by a former alienated high level party official, who also represents the Mohajir community, can do some serious damage to the party. Mustafa Kamal, during his two hour long speech, by and large asserted one point, which can be summed as: the MQM’s chief is absolutely indifferent to the Muhajir community’s concerns and has destroyed two generations for his own greed and to fulfill a foreign country’s interests

Moreover, what is important here is the timing of this entire situation. The MQM has been under pressure from more than a year. In March last year, the Rangers raided the party’s headquarters and claimed to have confiscated large cache of illegal weapons. Furthermore, Altaf Hussain is also facing multiple cases in Britain, including the money laundering case and the Imran Farooq murder case. The government has forbidden all TV channels from broadcasting any speech of Altaf’s Hussain.

The federal government or the establishment, thus far, has not taken any significant action against the party’s senior leadership because of the high stakes. Whatever crimes the MQM leadership may have committed, its role has also remained pivotal in ensuring relative stability in the city. And a sudden and abrupt breakdown and collapse of party structure would only create chaos in Karachi, which neither the federal government nor the military establishment is interested in.

With sustained pressure, the establishment wants to create an atmosphere where workers or the senior leadership of the party ask for leadership change from within. What is also important here is that the federal government or whoever is in control of Karachi needs to assuage the concerns of the second tier of MQM’s leadership for any smooth transition to take place.

In the coming days and weeks, we may see more desertions and weakening of the MQM’s organisational structure. Mustafa Kamal’s announcement regarding the launch of a new party – or perhaps the “MQM forward block” – points towards this development. Yet it remains to be seen if Mustafa Kamal can prove to be the last nail in MQM’s coffin.