MQM’s survival

Biting the bullet

Undoubtedly the MQM is on the ropes. The sensational tell-all video of Saulat Mirza, the convicted MQM thug, just a few hours before his now stayed execution was obviously meant to be the proverbial last nail in the ethnic outfits’ coffin.

The dead man talking has little value in a court of law. But at the altar of public opinion it is quite another matter. Perhaps the sole purpose of recording and releasing the video was to confirm the worst fears of MQM detractors.

Balochistan’s home minister has claimed that the now viral video was not recorded in the Machh jail death row. Obviously it is a hatchet job well orchestrated by the intelligence sleuths infesting the province.

By some accounts Mirza’s execution has been stayed for a month. If so there will be plenty of time to record his statement in the presence of a magistrate. The footage notwithstanding, its legal value or lack of it has caused ripples. And it has grave implications for the future of MQM.

Ironically, the very establishment that created the Muhajir Qaumi Movement (later rechristened as Muttahida Qaumi Movement) is now determined to destroy it. It was the late dictator General Zia-ul-Haq that carved out the MQM in urban Sindh through the good offices of the ubiquitous establishment at his beck and call.

The late dictator had no qualms in exploiting religious, ethnic or sectarian fault lines to perpetuate his rule. He created the chimerical monster in the form of MQM as a counterweight to the PPP’s monopoly over Sindh as well as to curb the rising influence of Jamaat-e-Islami in Karachi.

MQM sprouted from the All Pakistan Muhajir Student Organisation (APMSO) created by Altaf Hussain as a student leader in 1978. Sadly, the political outfit that has dominated the urban Sindh landscape since its inception in 1984 has not been able to outgrow its strong ethnic moorings.

Nor has the party ever eschewed using violence to intimidate its opponents and to maintain its support base; the end justifying the means. But in a clear break from the past, the establishment seems now to be bent upon destroying its brand.

Balochistan’s home minister has claimed that the now viral video was not recorded in the Machh jail death row. Obviously it is a hatchet job well orchestrated by the intelligence sleuths infesting the province

The MQM leadership perhaps understands the dynamics of the high stakes involved. That is why calls for violent shutdowns of the metropolis, in response to the recent clampdown, are entirely missing from its narrative.

The recent raid at Nine Zero, the MQM’s headquarters, and the subsequent statement of its convicted hit man Saulat Mirza has engendered a debate about the outfits’ future as a political party. There is a swath of opinion that thinks that the party should eschew violence and rid itself of criminal elements in order to survive politically.

But is the party capable of reinventing itself under the tutelage of Altaf Hussain, its supremo? Saulat Mirza’s allegations have far reaching consequences for the future of the party. They cannot be simply dismissed as laments of a soon to be dead man, or because they cannot withstand the scrutiny of a court of law.

It is amply clear that mere pronouncement of innocence and being the victim rather than the perpetrators will no longer work for MQM. Orders to physically eliminate specific high value targets and dissident party men within the fold ostensibly emanated from the very top. Shahid Hamid, the KESC MD, was simply murdered by Saulat Mirza for not kowtowing to MQM’s demands.

Hence merely purging a few criminal elements will not be enough. The rot will have to be stymied right from the top and through its rank and file. MQM’s present leadership is not part of solution but part of the problem.

It should make way for a new ethos ingrained in a purely democratic political process bereft of bhatta, kidnapping, thuggery and murder. It is indeed a difficult proposition for the party’s top leadership. But if Altaf Hussain really wants the outfit created by him alone to survive him, he will have to bite the bullet.

While the MQM is on the run in Karachi, possibly far more serious happenings have recently taken place in Lahore. The lynching of two ostensibly innocent men by an enraged mob in the aftermath of the church bombing last Sunday — as put by Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan — was the worst form of terrorism.

Without offering any justification for such ghoulish behaviour, the Pakistani society as a whole taking an increasingly violent bent does not auger well for the future. The dispossessed and the oppressed are feeling more and more alienated and hence angry.

It was indeed surprising to witness such violent outrage from the normally peaceful Christian community. But their recent mob behaviour is symptomatic of a bigger malaise.

But is the party capable of reinventing itself under the tutelage of Altaf Hussain, its supremo? Saulat Mirza’s allegations have far reaching consequences for the future of the party

The manner in which a Christian couple was burnt to death in a brick kiln on trumped up charges of blasphemy has become the norm rather than the exception. Minorities like Christians, Ahmedis, and the Shi’a community have consistently got the wrong end of the stick while the state has remained a helpless spectator.

Violence begets violence. Hence it is no surprise that the society as whole is becoming increasingly brutal. Of course the state in the past year or so has started making concerted efforts to stymie the rot.

But the present mess is a direct result of years of benign neglect and such elements being promoted by the ubiquitous establishment. Even now the transition towards an egalitarian, tolerant and inclusive ethos is perceptibly slow to the extent of being virtually non-existent.

The passage of the twenty-first amendment to the constitution, enabling setting up of military courts and subsequent removal of moratorium on the death penalty, is only tantamount to treating the symptoms while allowing the malignant malaise to fester.

The whole exercise to rid Pakistan of terrorism and a jihadist mindset is virtually military led. It is like: Mir bhi kaya saada hain bimaar hoye jis ke sabab; Usi attar ke launday se dawa laitey hain! (Taking the medicine from the one who is responsible for the disease in the first place).

Unfortunately our ruling elite — too busy in ‘loot maar’, enjoying the perks of power and privilege – has outsourced the existential task to General Raheel Sharif.

Thanks to this spineless attitude, a policy thrust to rid the constitution of discriminatory clauses inserted by late General Zia-ul-Haq is entirely missing. Nor is there any concerted effort to change the now much talked about national discourse.