Daily Times

Once the BBC has aired the second part of its documentary regarding the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), we can almost confirm that the political career of the self-exiled founder of the party, Altaf Hussain, is almost over. And the likelihood of his recovery from these deep-rooted problems is extremely low. So is the case of General Musharraf. After his arrest warrant has been issued by the special court and his plea to leave the country on medical grounds has been turned down, we can pretty much conclude that he will not be able to evade a personal appearance before it anymore and that he will be indicted on the charge of high treason under Article six of the constitution.

In other words, Mr Hussain is rapidly becoming a liability for the MQM just like General Musharraf who has turned into a full-fledged nightmare for the Pakistan army. Not too long ago, each one had a strong grip on their organisation/party, each one of them was singlehandedly leading it without any opposition and each one would use his unlimited powers to stay atop. The two leaders were political allies and ‘close friends’, ready to help each other out on every issue — constitutional or not — including judicial matters pertaining to the chief justice of Pakistan. Now, facing legal repercussions for their (alleged) crimes, each one somehow hopes that their power base will be able to bail them out yet again.

As far as Mr Hussain is concerned, even his longtime supporters, in their private meetings, now agree that one day or another he will be arrested by the London police and will be prosecuted for money laundering, tax evasion and/or the assassination of Imran Farooq, a close associate of Mr Hussain and one of the oldest members of the party, who was murdered just outside his house on the rumours that he was having differences with his leader and was going to join another political party. His death was not welcomed by the people of Karachi nor it was taken lightly by the authorities in the UK; it has triggered a chain of unfavourable events for the leadership, which continues to unfold on a regular basis even three years after his death. With that being said, it is evident that if Mr Hussain continues to lead the organisation, the popularity of the MQM will keep on dropping, and the party that was once able to unite and represent the middle class Urdu speaking community of Pakistan for decades will lose its significance in the political arena very soon. Even now, it has already lost a tremendous amount of support as was noticeable in last year’s general election, but I think that the damage is not yet permanent and recovery from the crisis is still possible if the situation is handled with patience, political wisdom and thoughtfulness.

I realise that Altaf Hussain built this party on his own, against all odds and dedicated his life for the rights of the people of Karachi who, before his struggle, always felt ignored and under-represented even when the city, according to most Karachites, brought huge revenues for the federal government. Notwithstanding his contributions, in order to stop the bleeding, it is best in my opinion for him to announce a successor and leave the party as he is too controversial to lead it anymore. Furthermore, the sooner it is done the better would be the outcome not only for the MQM and Karachi but also for Sindh and Pakistan. Once he has stepped aside, the party can reorganise immediately and dissociate once and for all from violence in every shape or form.

I also believe that the old culture in Pakistan, when violence was supported and sometimes even sponsored by political parties, is going to end soon. I may be unrealistically optimistic but the truth is that both the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), the two parties of Pakistan who collectively have obtained more than 60 percent of the votes, have denounced this culture in Punjab. The PTI, especially in Karachi, was able to snatch thousands of votes from the areas that were traditionally considered as the strongholds of the MQM without firing a single bullet. Besides that, the old hostility of the PPP and PML-N is turning into a civilised political rivalry with respect for each other and understanding for each other’s mandate. In this new wave of political maturity, where a strong narrative regarding nonviolence is getting popular and improved governance is becoming a new benchmark, the MQM cannot stay behind and needs to be a part it. Unfortunately, it is impossible to accomplish this with the current leadership in place.

The same rule applies to General Musharraf. Every day that he stays in the army hospital under a dubious diagnosis and attempts to avoid a personal appearance before the court, it gets harder to defend his innocence. For many, his reluctance itself is an open admission of guilt. They believe in the presence of his signed document on the imposition of martial law saying, “I hereby order and proclaim that the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan shall remain in abeyance”; the verdict is clear. However, let us hold our horses and not talk about the verdict at present.

In my opinion, the prestige of the Pakistan army cannot be put at risk to protect the interests of one person. The army needs unanimous and unambiguous support of the people as its soldiers are being killed in terrorist attacks and it may also launch a countrywide operation against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Any diversion that can potentially divide the country instead of unifying it in this war can be disastrous. So, I would urge General Musharraf to put Pakistan’s interests before his own and follow the same maxim that he used to advocate for years: Pakistan first.

The writer is a US-based freelance columnist. He tweets at @KaamranHashmi and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com