Adil Najam
News reports suggest that the MQM (now the Muttihada Quami Movement) has held large simultaneous rallies in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan with its leader in “voluntary” exile Altaf Hussain addressing the rallies over the phone.
It would be fair to say that the MQM has been a largely Karachi-based but increasingly urban-Sindh phenomenon wielding immense political influence in those areas and that most people in the Punjab have looked at the party, its tactics and its leadership with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. The party’s leader, Altaf Hussain, who is now a British citizen and has lived in voluntary exile in London for over 18 years still seems to hold total control over the party and his phenomenon is even less comprehensible to many outside of the MQM’s traditional stronghold areas.
The MQM has, in fact, been trying to expand its areas of influence, including in the Punjab. First outside of Karachi and Hyderabad to the rest of urban Sindh, then into rural Sindh, and more recently into the rest of the country. The push into Punjab seems to be a concerted one and is synchornized and planned. It remains to be seen what, if anything, will come out of this. But given the political and organizational resources the MQM brings with it, this is clearly a challenge to Punjab’s political status quo that they will not be taking lightly.
I myself am not at all sure what this means. Is the MQM truly out on a national expansion or whether this is a move geared more towards consolidating their position in Sindh rather than actually expanding into the Punjab? What sort of political reception will they get in the Punjab, and from whom? What are they reading in the political tea leaves about the changing fortunes of the established parties in the Punjab – the PPP and PMLs – and also about the political frustrations of the general electorate? How will the other players respond to this move?
Like much that comes out of the MQM, there seems to be a thought-out plan behind this move, but it is not yet clear what it is.
Vowing a political revolution in Punjab, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) held its first ever simultaneous convention in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan .Many big promises were made in this mainstream Punjabi debut by the MQM, in a bid to expand its reach. In an attempt to play on a raw nerve with a disillusioned public, Altaf Hussain promised the introduction of uniform health and education facilities, and a resolution to the economic difficulties of the common people, No doubt he appeared hard in his demeanor. But question is, Are these harsh words an attempt to hide an even harsher reality? There are too many skeletons in the MQM’s cupboard that need to be overcome before it can seek to establish itself as an electorally viable party in Punjab. Known so far for its inability to transcend ethnic-lingual boundaries, the MQM will need to truly re-invent itself if it expects to make progress in Punjab. The MQM also faces many lingering suspicions on its perceived autocratic nature and dubious extortion tactics. The public is very aware now due to an overactive media and times so economically harsh that they promise infertile soil for traditional MQM tactics or practices.
The people who accuse MQM of committing violence are not aware of the history pf Karachi and what led to the formation of Karachi. Before MQM came into being, there was a Punjabi Students Federation, Pukhtoon Students Federation, Baloch Students Federation, Sindhi Nationalist Parties etc. already present in all educational institutes of Karachi. They promoted their own kin and often roughed up those who happened to disagree with them. The Urdu speaking population of urban sindh faced many massacares in Karachi at the hands of Pukhtoons (Qasba-Aligarh, Orangi Town etc.) and Sindhi’s (Pakka Qilla, Hyderabad etc.) and no one throughout Pakistan condemned these massacares neither they demanded that those who perpetrated these crimes be brought to justice. This is the reason people of Karachi and Hyderabad flocked to MQM once it announced that it will safeguard the interests of Muhajirs and contest elections.
However, one thing should be kept in mind, unlike other Nationalist MQM never ever said anything about breaking up the country or carving out a province for Muhajirs. The fact that they sometimes resorted to violence, infact served to provide balance of power in that there were no more massacares of Muhajir population in Karachi or Sindh and vice versa. The people of Punjab will never know the true horror of the operation against MQM conducted by the Army. No other ethnic group in Pakistan, be it the Baloch’s or PPP activists in Sindh, have faced such a vicious, bloody operation as the Muhajir’s of Sindh endured for 7 years. Once again there were no voices of support from anyone in the country despite the fact that 15,000 young men were killed in extra judicial murders. As a result, people of karachi clung to MQM even more resolutely because they were aware of this gross injustice taking place in front of their eyes. But since MQM changed the words from Muhajir to Muttahida, not once have they only talked about the rights of Muhajirs, whereas we have ANP only speaking about Pukhtoon’s, Nawaz Sharif’s obvious tilt towards Punjab based issues (the infamous “jaag punjabi jaag”!) and PPP’s threat to use the Sindh card (either PPP or Pakistan na Khapay!! )
MQM brings to Punjab cutting edge development technologies experience it gained from moderenizing Karachi in just 4 years. Even Punjabis of Karachi if you ever talk to them will admit to Mustafa Kamal’s brilliance in giving this city a new face. Just listen to what upright men like Luqman and Hasan Nisar say about MQM. MQM’s venture into Punjab will only serve to strengthen Pakistan. Just think about educated, motivated middle class and poor son’s of Hari’s representing places like Vehari, DG Khan, Bahawalnagar etc. They’ll put those feudals’s who have kept our nation uneducated, undernourished and without any voice, into their rightfull place.
Lets not associate ourselves to different parties right now. This is the time when we all require to be united as one against the Taliban who are trying to destroy our country. We all are Pakistanis and must help our leaders to promote tolerance amongst each other as well.
While they have a right to campaign wherever they like, what is, “tera saya bhi manzil hai”? how is this different from the idolizing and jahalat that takes place amongst PPP supporters when they worship Bhuttos or any other feudally led political party where lifetime leaderships are norm and leader puja is rampant? Its sickening. We bicker amongst ourselves about who is next to God or who is at fault for our ills; Bhutto or his Daughter, the Army or Musharraf, our Nuclear Bum or the Kashmir cause and we fail to see democracy is no where to be found. We are nation of sick people who are incapable of seeing or speaking the truth therefore we remain in darkness and will remain so when the most brilliant of minds continue to support jahalat and corruption, nepotism and injustice in our society directly or indirectly.
Major parties have failed to deliver ever since death of Ziaul Haq. Provincial parties should be given a chance as it will lead to better integration. ANP winning assembly seats in Karachi is a good example. ANP and MQM have, so far, successfully averted many ethnic tensions and crisis in Karachi