Daily Times

Altaf Bhai’s arrest on suspicion of money laundering did not come as a surprise. Altaf Hussain had told his faithful followers that British law enforcement agencies were after him and have made his life extremely difficult, as of last year. Based on what information has surfaced so far, the correspondents of news channels have reported that Hussain’s personal bank accounts are frozen. I have no personal knowledge, but reasonable deduction leads one to believe that he perhaps does not have his British passport in his possession, or has travel restrictions. This was perhaps one of the reasons why Altaf Bhai was seeking his Pakistani passport, that too after so many years. What happened in that regard is perhaps now unimportant as the coming days will really define his future. The reality is that Altaf Hussain is in custody as these lines are being written and is perhaps the subject of multiple ongoing investigations. The British authorities have taken their time and perhaps made the move after a lot of care and with adequate preparation. Hussain is a high profile personality in the UK and of course in Pakistan. But the beauty of western law enforcement is undeniable. Regardless of your position or stature, if you are subject to any investigation, whether civil or criminal, you are treated like any other common citizen. Come to think of it, this is the real Islamic way that is being followed very religiously in non-Muslim lands. Please do not get me started on when it comes to our country and the following of these very Islamic values. We follow one value for sure and that is being the best noise makers.

Speaking of noise, Karachi came to a standstill when this news broke and one has to wonder why? The arrest of Hussain is totally a non-political matter and all the hue and cry of his supporters back home makes no difference to the Metropolitan Police or Crown Prosecution Service in the UK. The citizens of Pakistan, who are abandoning their work or schools to demonstrate their concern for or solidarity with their British-Pakistani leader, are overlooking one very important detail. This is not a domestic issue at all. Depressing is the loss of private property and ongoing destruction, which somehow is done by ‘invisible people’. Altaf Hussain’s party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) holds the key to the port city of Karachi, yet it always plays the victim in these situations. The tell tale signs are not so good, for what is ahead for the largest city and commercial hub of Pakistan. Despite my personal reservations and the style of politics of the MQM, I am a great fan of Altaf Bhai’s no nonsense oratory skills. He has the typical Karachiite style, which you can only appreciate in its essence if you have lived and spent some quality time in the city. Besides, he has a God-gifted talent to engage his audience with signature directness. Undeniably, he has the backbone to say and take on a lot of sensitive topics, which others tend to avoid. The so-called analysts and talk show ‘headless’ heads have expressed their concerns about the leadership vacuum within MQM should Altaf Hussain be unavailable for an extended period of time. Very occasionally, I agree with those bobbing heads and on this particular issue, I echo that concern. No matter what we say, our political parties are nothing more than personality cults. Very respectfully, the MQM is no exception, though it claims to be the voice of the educated, lower and middle-class of urban Karachi and Hyderabad.

Conversely, in mature democracies the parties supersede personalities. For example, the Democratic Party will be move on once President Obama leaves office and Obama will perhaps become a relic of the past for the party that put all their weight behind him twice over the last eight years. To the credit of Altaf Bhai, unlike other party heads he has stayed away from seeking any public office. Another worthy mention is his ability to manage and run the affairs of his party through video and audio link from London. The million dollar question that is consuming the air waves of the idiot box is, what’s next? Speculation is rife and of course the future of the city and its representative party is on everyone’s mind. If the Crown Prosecution Service feels that it has credible evidence to proceed with a case, at that point it is reasonable to assume that Altaf Hussain will not be able to lead the affairs of the party in his signature style from the confines of London. At that juncture, he will have to name his successor, who will have quite big shoes to fill. In the worst case, if the big brother of millions is convicted on the charges and imprisoned, it will not bode well for the party at all. If this development is viewed in the context of speculations of the derailment process that is being rumoured to begin in August, the signs are quite damning and yes, utterly disturbing.

The writer is a Pakistani-American
mortgage banker. He blogs at http://dasghar.blogspot.com and can be reached at dasghar@aol.com. He tweets at http://twitter.com/dasghar