The unmaking of terror

The spectre of the fascist – and the criminal – combine comes back to haunt a nation

Altaf Hussain was finally arrested in London on June 3 on money-laundering charges. Actually, he should have been hauled up a long time ago, but for the sickening nature and dynamics of the Pakistani politics and its extenuations outside.

Altaf Hussain headed what was originally the Mohajir Qaumi Movement which was later transformed into the Mutthida Qaumi Movement (MQM) – an organisation that capitalised on exploiting the raw sentiments of a migrant minority to establish itself as a political entity. Unfortunately, both for the MQM and the country, because of limitations of vision and objectives plaguing its birth, the party could never grow beyond securing the support of the migrant faction, the muhajirs, a bulk of whom actually never migrated as they were born in Pakistan after the partition.

From its very inception, the party indulged in perpetrating violence to establish its hold on a predominantly poor and underprivileged community. These tactics included extortion, target killing, kidnapping for ransom, and such other methods that would drive fear in the minds of a hapless community. As a natural consequence, Karachi literally became a haunted city where people left homes in the morning fearing that they may not return in the evening. Parents were afraid to send their children to school. Discovering gunny bags containing the bruised and battered body parts of those kidnapped became a routine phenomenon. Not a day passed when a few innocent people were not felled by the bullets of the paid mercenaries of the party. Remember the May 11 massacre?

Altaf Hussain fled the country in 1992 fearing his arrest in a murder case and sought political asylum in the UK. Subsequently, he applied for the issuance of a British passport. It is widely believed that he was rewarded with it when, after 9/11, he wrote to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair offering “unlimited resources” for human intelligence to monitor the activities of madrassas, fundamentalists and Taliban-led organisations in Pakistan. Reportedly, he also asked for the disbanding of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI), as it would “continue to produce many Osama bin Ladens and Talibans in the future”.

Altaf Hussain fled the country in 1992 fearing his arrest in a murder case and sought political asylum in the UK. Subsequently, he applied for the issuance of a British passport. It is widely believed that he was rewarded with it when, after 9/11, he wrote to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair offering “unlimited resources” for human intelligence to monitor the activities of madrassas, fundamentalists and Taliban-led organisations in Pakistan. Reportedly, he also asked for the disbanding of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI), as it would “continue to produce many Osama bin Ladens and Talibans in the future”.

Separately, the MQM leader had been routinely puking venom against the state and its institutions at multiple platforms. His vituperative onslaught in India a few years ago must be fresh in the minds of those who saw it unfurl. He did not hesitate to even go to the extent of propounding the undoing of Pakistan. The rumours of the MQM plans to carve out a separate state in Sindh by the name of Jinnahpur remained circulating for a long time though these were denied later by the army and those reportedly involved in the‘operation clean-up’.

He maintained a vice-like grip on the party from his safe sojourn in London and, despite much protest from divergent groups, the British refused to pay heed to his telephonic invocations to violence which were obsequiously translated into action on ground by a large contingent of his assassins. There is not a family living in Karachi that has not been impacted by this unceasing wave of terror.

Twice, the state launched operations to cleanse the city of the MQM-inflicted terror, but, eventually, it was sacrificed at the political altar to ensure the survival in government of the outfits which, overtly and covertly, became complicit in the continuation of the wanton criminal spree. The MQM also helped parties, including the PPP and the PML-N, to establish their governments in the province of Sindh, but these alliances were often marked by disagreements on the issue of sharing the spoils of plunder among them.

Money-laundering is not the only crime that Altaf Hussain is accused of. When an estranged MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq was assassinated in 2011, many fingers pointed in his direction. The story involving the escape of the two alleged killers from London and their arrival in Pakistan via Sri Lanka and subsequent arrest by the agencies remains an enigma. It is now being said that, on the insistence of the British government, the UK police have been given access to the two alleged killers. Then there is also the case of tax evasion and incitement to violence through frequent telephonic addresses from London. It is expected that these charges will also be pressed against him in due course of time.

The culture of politicisation of crime in Pakistan has an uncharacteristically demeaning history. The state has been virtually scavenged of its assets and strengths, but succeeding governments have refused to move against the not-so-hidden criminals. Instead, political parties have enacted self-serving contracts to protect each other in such matters. The state institutions tasked with the responsibility of eliminating crime and corruption and punishing the perpetrators have been reduced to becoming succeeding government’s handmaidens. People with proven chequered past have been assigned the responsibility to head such institutions including the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Obviously, there would not be even a hint of threat to a host of alleged criminals masquerading as leaders. Otherwise, in the presence of a 42-page signed testimonial by the incumbent finance minister Ishaq Dar implicating the Sharif family in acts of money-laundering, should the brothers be in power, or in prison?

The culture of politicisation of crime in Pakistan has an uncharacteristically demeaning history. The state has been virtually scavenged of its assets and strengths, but succeeding governments have refused to move against the not-so-hidden criminals. Instead, political parties have enacted self-serving contracts to protect each other in such matters. The state institutions tasked with the responsibility of eliminating crime and corruption and punishing the perpetrators have been reduced to becoming succeeding government’s handmaidens. People with proven chequered past have been assigned the responsibility to head such institutions including the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Obviously, there would not be even a hint of threat to a host of alleged criminals masquerading as leaders. Otherwise, in the presence of a 42-page signed testimonial by the incumbent finance minister Ishaq Dar implicating the Sharif family in acts of money-laundering, should the brothers be in power, or in prison?

The venture to apparent safety undertaken by Altaf Hussain to escape arrest in Pakistan has come back to haunt him and the future of his political party. In Pakistan, he would have been able to escape the dragnet of justice as have so many others of his ilk who are today perched on the throne of power. But, in London, much to his angst and that of his partners in crime, there is no escaping justice. It may take long, at times excruciatingly long, but no one can have the luxury of not being held accountable in the end. So has been Altaf Hussain. But his response and tactics in the aftermath of his arrest are sickeningly Pakistani: attempts to politicise an arrest made on a specific charge of money-laundering with which the state of Pakistan, its people and the city of Karachi have nothing to do. It follows that they should also have nothing to do with its consequences. But the prime minister of Pakistan thinks differently as do the leaders of various political parties who are lining up at the sit-ins to pay homage to the terror unleashed by the MQM and its leader. Increasingly, it looks like one massive crime syndicate which has branched off in various directions.

Technically speaking, Altaf Hussain was not a citizen of Pakistan at the time of his arrest. He left the country a good twenty-two years ago and never returned here even for a day. Fearing arrest, he had applied for his Pakistani ID card and passport and was also interested in the process being fast-tracked. Initially when the government, knowingly or unknowingly, refused to oblige, there was much protest by the MQM which was called off only after the government held out a promise to speed up. There are conflicting reports pertaining to the issuance of these documents to him now. First, a federal minister said that the documents had been delivered to him which has since been denied. In that event, under what law and why did the Prime Minister ask for consular access to a British national? Is this a political investment to be en-cashed in the hope that the MQM leader may be freed sometime soon?

Reportedly, there was also an attempt by Altaf Hussain to escape to South-Africa which was thwarted by the British authorities. This lends further credence to the assertion that he knew what was coming which is also borne out by his thundering telephonic address some weeks ago when he had accused the British authorities of haunting him and freezing his bank accounts. He even referred to this as an “international conspiracy” against him.

Understandably, there is no dearth of weaponry with the party rank and file and there is little hesitation in using it at the slightest pretext. It is a party that believes in inking its own laws to strangulate Karachi as has been demonstrated yet again in the aftermath of Altaf Hussain’s arrest. This mindset legitimises the use of terror as a weapon to impose the party’s writ on a hapless people. Just look at the faces that don the MQM lines. Death stalks them. They have no choice. They can either be there sitting endlessly until commanded otherwise, or they would be lying six-foot down-under.

There are two issues that threaten the MQM which are also interconnected. One is the arrest of Altaf Hussain and the prospect of him remaining in custody for a prolonged period and the second relates to the consequent brutal power struggle within the party echelons. An even more important question relates to the effect that these events may have on the situation in Karachi. Already, there are signs that the MQM has made up its mind to fight this as a political battle on the streets of Karachi and not as a legal battle in the British courts. Karachi was literally paralysed with fear for two days in the aftermath of Altaf Hussain’s arrest and a level of normalcy returned to the city only when the leader made an appeal for the same through some party leaders. The situation, nevertheless, remains extremely tense which may explode on the slightest provocation!

MQM has ruled by fear and shall continue to do so as long as it is left with the potential. Now, in the throes of possible decline and eventual obliteration, the battle of survival will be fought with unmatched ferocity using the tool of terror to optimum effect. If Karachi is to remain even marginally normal, this has to be denied to the MQM and its leadership. But, who is going to do it? The state has been missing ever since the advent of the incumbent democratic dispensation and is likely to remain so because an activation of its institutions and apparatus would pose a potent threat to the corruption of the ruling political elite and its criminal cohorts. So, a false pretence of cooperation with the MQM leader will be cleverly threaded together as is evidenced by the recent government statements regarding his documents and the presence of leaders from different political dispensations at its sit-ins in Karachi.

Will Altaf eventually escape the clutches of law and will there be a reprieve for his party? Will it survive the intense and bloody internal feuding which may spill over onto the streets of Karachi? Understandably, there is no dearth of weaponry with the party rank and file and there is little hesitation in using it at the slightest pretext. It is a party that believes in inking its own laws to strangulate Karachi as has been demonstrated yet again in the aftermath of Altaf Hussain’s arrest. This mindset legitimises the use of terror as a weapon to impose the party’s writ on a hapless people. Just look at the faces that don the MQM lines. Death stalks them. They have no choice. They can either be there sitting endlessly until commanded otherwise, or they would be lying six-foot down-under.

For the MQM, it is a battle for survival. Already, there are palpable signs of weakness emanating from internal strife which is going to peak as the case progresses. For the government, it is a challenge to ensure peace in Karachi and the rest of the country. Obviously, the city cannot survive as a hostage to MQM’s terror tactics. Will violence triumph in the end as, unfortunately, it has so consistently in this cursed land? Everyone waits with baited breath!