Past master in the art of survival
The only party to be run successfully for 22 years from a distant shore through remote control, the MQM is a unique political party in several ways. The PPP and PMLN simply wilted during 1999-20012 when their top leaders were absent from the country. Despite being in exile since 1992 Altaf Hussain enjoys a firm grip over the levers of power within the party. The party coffers are always overflowing, and Hussain’s writ unquestioningly obeyed and the policies he devises obediently implemented. It resembles a military drill, with every caution followed meticulously. During Altaf Hussain’s absence the party has weathered two operations under the PPP and PML-N only to bounce back and share power for ten years on the trot with Musharraf and PPP.
Again, the MQM is the only party which has been most of the time in and out but never away from power, courtesy its exceptional adaptability. The party is least bothered about who its sleeping partner happens to be as long as its pound of flesh is delivered. It can align itself with the PPP in 1988 and with the PML-N in 1990. Despite being the major target of Pakistan Army’s Operation ‘Clean-up’ in 1992, the party had no qualms about joining Musharraf in 2002 and be a part of his administration.
Governor Ishratul Ibad resigns, then suddenly returns from abroad and takes up the job without any interruption in tenure. Appointed to the gubernatorial post in 2002, a dozen years later he has stayed put to become the longest serving governor in the country’s history. He was Musharraf’s darling and the PPP’s favourite and is equally acceptable to the PML-N. The party is a past master in the art of survival.
Again the MQM has no parallel in taking U-turns. The party violently criticizes the PPP as the feudals’ representative of and maligns the PML-N as the agents of capitalists. Then it joins hands with the PPP and spends an entire five-year long tenure as its coalition partner. Presently it is casting around for the PML-N.
At several times during 2008-2013, the MQM announced to quit the PPP-led coalition government at the federal and provincial level. The hype thus created invariably ended either in reconciliation before separation or rejoining after reconciliation.
Enamoured by the Pakistani Awami Tehreek chief, the ‘soul mate’ that Altaf said he had finally discovered, the MQM announces support for Qadri’s Long March against its own coalition government. Suddenly the party calls it off
Yet another unique feature is that the party’s rank and file is never bothered about their leadership’s flip flops. Thus the MQM’s joining the PPP government in Sindh par for the course to them. And no questions would ever be asked if the MQM was to simultaneously become a part of the PML-N’s federal setup, which it is desperately trying to do.
