Daily Times

Finally Altaf Hussein, the founder and the controversial leader of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has made everyone’s life easy by saying the ‘magic words’. Now it is easy for Farooq Sattar to take over the party, at least for a little while; easy for the Pak Sur Zameen party led by Mustafa Kamal to justify their claims against him; easy for the establishment to launch a heavier crackdown on the MQM; easy for the federal government to encourage Rangers to push forward, easy for the provincial government to keep distance from the operation; and easy for the judges to decide against the founder of the MQM and find him guilty of high treason.

In this long list of winners, the losers are the voters of Karachi, and the Urdu speaking community of the largest city of Pakistan; these are the people who entrusted Altaf Hussain to represent them for three decades in the assemblies. These people cast their vote in his favour every single time without ever evaluating a candidate or verifying his credentials even when he was out of country for more than two decades, and half of the time his telephonic speeches did not make any sense. For hours the workers would sit in front of the phone, their faces down, without making a noise, listening to the diatribe of a ‘semi madman’.

In my opinion, it was the trust of the people that led Hussain to lose his temperament, their confidence in him that he would not listen to anyone’s advice or calm down. Conceited, whatever came to his mind, he would blurt it out without ever trying to filter his thoughts. And just like an addict he continued to stretch a little more every time, till last week.

So disappointing were those words 10 days ago that Hussain’s own party had no choice but to disassociate with him urgently, the time for apology was gone and every effort to put the Humpty Dumpty back together was doomed to be unsuccessful. He had crossed the threshold, and by doing that he has affirmed that every politician should act composed even in a private gathering and think twice before he speaks. By keeping the filter on you not only avoid legal trouble but also stay true to your profession of serving the country and its people.

Was it planned or spontaneous? Was it to save the MQM from Altaf Hussain or to protect Altaf Hussain from criminal investigations and the on-going media trial? Or was it to provide a way out to workers who wanted to avoid torture?

Everyone has a different opinion about it while no one knows the truth. Speculations hence fill the ears, and gossip takes over the water-cooler discussions. However, there are a few things that go beyond speculations. First, a mass confusion surrounds the mohajir community about the future of their party, their united strength in the assemblies. Second, the fear that political vultures would attack and fight for each and every morsel of the pie consumes them. They worry that the party that was once known for its unity would be divided into smaller groups. Some would favour the MQM Pakistan; the others would vote for the faction led by Mustafa Kamal; a few would stand with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf; and many would find refuge in the Jamaat-e-Islami. On top, the establishment would choose its own favourites. In the end, everyone would win a few seats. Yet the community would lose as a whole. And even after choosing members for the assemblies they would still lose representation.

While black clouds of despair loom over the MQM workers, people from other ethnicities are flaunting their patriotism in every form possible, as if one of the enemies of the state, like Mullah Fazlullah, has been killed, or Pakistan has won a military battle against India. To understand how deep this bias is ask people in Lahore or Sahiwal who they hate more. My guess: more than half would name Altaf Hussain over the former leaders of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan like Baitullah Mehsud or his successor Hakeemullah Mehsud. It is scary.

True, what Hussain said cannot be defended in the current situation, but it is also true that hatred towards him is not only because of his association with violence and crime, or because of his loose talk and over-the-top speeches. It is also partly towards his political strength, and his absolute control on the vote bank of a community. And whoever replaces him — if he becomes as powerful and as effective as he was — would have to go through the same public relations dilemma that he had to go through. He would also be promoted as an ‘Indian agent’ like the founder of the MQM was projected. In response if that leader — be it Farooq Sattar or Mustafa Kamal — also shows less control in his expression, and in case has not opted to stay out of Pakistan, he would definitely be judged and penalised, as his second-in-command sits in front of cameras announcing his disassociation.

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