By Amir Zia
June 09, 2014
The News
The chances are that even in the worst case scenario, the mainstream MQM will be able to maintain its unity under those leaders who enjoy the blessings of Altaf Hussain despite some likely dissents or defections within its ranks.
Crises and the MQM often go hand-in-hand. Since its impressive entry into electoral politics in 1987 – when this urban Sindh-based party swept the local bodies elections in Karachi and Hyderabad – the MQM had more than its fair amount of make-or-break challenges. From a bloody military operation in 1992 in the wake of a major split in its ranks to the police-led crackdown in the mid-1990s during the second stint of Benazir Bhutto government, the MQM and its politics have indeed witnessed a roller coaster ride ––full of non-stop action, gory violence, nail-biting drama and Byzantine intrigue.
Somehow, the party has always managed to claw back from the brink and return to the centre-stage with a bang. However, never before has the MQM faced the kind of challenge that has emerged with the arrest of its founding leader Altaf Hussain in London on suspicion of money-laundering. This latest test remains unprecedented even by the standards of the MQM, which often thrives in confrontations and uses them to galvanise its hardcore workers and supporters alike.
Although Altaf Hussain was released on personal bail early Saturday without any formal charges being framed against him, he is to appear before the authorities whenever required. This means that the challenge for the party and its leader is not yet over. The money laundering case is likely to hang over Altaf Hussain in the days to come, keeping his party and workers on the tenterhooks.
The very suspicion of money laundering by one of the front-line Pakistani politicians in Britain itself remains an exceptional development. After all, facing a crackdown by domestic state authorities, managing dissent within the party ranks or fighting a turf war with a rival political force is one thing and facing investigations in a foreign land is totally a different matter. The British investigation probe challenge can only be managed through the legal course and not through the use of street power and building up political pressure. Even if the Pakistan government sincerely tries to help the beleaguered MQM leader, it has its limitations since Altaf Hussain is a British citizen.
The situation will be a test case for the skill and political acumen of the MQM’s first and second tier of leadership on how it manages the expectations of its workers – known for their unrelenting support and loyalty to Altaf Hussain – and the domestic and foreign ground realities.
In a way, it will be the first crisis in which the MQM’s founding leader won’t be handling the matter as directly as he used to because of the force of circumstances and his reported frail health. He will be depending more on his lieutenants to do the job of not just fighting his legal battle but also keeping his political legacy and the grip on the party and its strongholds intact.
For a party like the MQM, in which Altaf Hussain remains a larger-than-life personality and the main fulcrum in all its decision-making – giving a seal of approval and legitimacy to all party office-bearers and lawmakers to operate on his behalf – this will require a new set of internal standard operating procedures and flexibility within its organisational structure so that it can run the show in case of his short or prolonged absence because of these investigations.
The MQM’s local and London leadership will have to walk a tight rope in managing its hardcore workers, young hot-heads and loyalists to prevent any major outburst of violent emotions in case of Altaf Hussain’s re-arrest or framing of charges against him. Despite the MQM being an organised party, this in no way will prove a mean task. It will require a delicate balancing act of demonstrating controlled aggression and protests vis-à-vis playing by the book and according to the law.
After all, the MQM cannot be seen taking the arrest of its leader lying down. This will be seen as an act of betrayal by its workers and loyalists.
At least in the first round, the MQM has managed the crisis well with two days of more or less complete shutdown of Karachi and prolonged sit-ins in various parts of the country, though even these tactics have many detractors. These protests and some ‘spontaneous’ sporadic incidents of violence in Karachi – from which the MQM was quick to distance itself – were aimed more for domestic consumption rather than making any impact on the British authorities or their legal process.
However, the MQM leadership played a positive role in bringing Karachi back to normalcy even before Altaf Hussain’s release on bail and by vocally condemning the incidents of aerial firing, forced closure of shops and setting ablaze of vehicles.
Keeping Karachi peaceful if Altaf Hussain is re-arrested would prove a Herculean task given the city’s complicated set of ethnic and sectarian contradictions where there are many violent political, religious, extremist groups as well as crime mafias which have the potential to rock the boat.
So far the government and all the other major political stakeholders in the city have played a positive role by expressing words of sympathy for the MQM leader in his testing times and by refraining from point-scoring. This was the need of the hour.
But if the money laundering investigation drags on or takes a more serious turn, it will also be a test case for the other parties too.
The idea of expanding the turf could be too tempting. The PPP, the PML-N, the PTI and the other religious and rightwing parties could want to exploit the situation in their favour. This could force the MQM to take a more hard-line posture, which would not be a good omen for the city.
Within the MQM, the challenge would be how to ensure a smooth transition and operations of the party if Altaf Hussain is forced out from its active leadership.
The money laundering investigation and its aftermath were not a bolt out of the blue for the MQM. This development was anticipated and the party had already started to give indications in this regard and adjust itself accordingly. Altaf Hussain had been talking about an international conspiracy against him for fairly sometime now and party workers and leaders had recently – only a couple of weeks before he was arrested – staged a massive show of solidarity with him.
This shows that the MQM has prepared in advance for this kind of eventuality. The most immediate challenge for the MQM leadership would be to stay as a cohesive and united force even in the absence of its leader no matter what many of the doomsayers predict about its future power tussle and the likely consequences of any race for the top position. For any infighting would not just be damaging for the party – which has a large number of critics accusing it of using organised force and violence to dominate – but also for the overall peace of the city.
Like any well-knit party, the chances are that even in the worst case scenario, the mainstream MQM will be able to maintain its unity under those leaders who enjoy the blessings of Altaf Hussain despite some likely dissents or defections within its ranks.
For a party that has transformed and matured with the age of its leaders – many of whom are now no more – the transition where Altaf Hussain might take a backseat will prove another daunting task. But the MQM has indeed come a long way from where it started. It made a transition from a party playing the narrow ethnic card to that of Muttihada Qaumi Movement and is now making efforts expand roots in the other parts of Pakistan. It has all the potential to again surprise its critics who predict that Altaf Hussain’s short or prolonged absence will result in infighting and prove the beginning of its end.
However, in the near-to-mid-term, the likely transition within the MQM will keep the politics of urban Sindh volatile and the MQM leaders, workers and supporters on their toes.
June 09, 2014
The News
The chances are that even in the worst case scenario, the mainstream MQM will be able to maintain its unity under those leaders who enjoy the blessings of Altaf Hussain despite some likely dissents or defections within its ranks.
Crises and the MQM often go hand-in-hand. Since its impressive entry into electoral politics in 1987 – when this urban Sindh-based party swept the local bodies elections in Karachi and Hyderabad – the MQM had more than its fair amount of make-or-break challenges. From a bloody military operation in 1992 in the wake of a major split in its ranks to the police-led crackdown in the mid-1990s during the second stint of Benazir Bhutto government, the MQM and its politics have indeed witnessed a roller coaster ride ––full of non-stop action, gory violence, nail-biting drama and Byzantine intrigue.
Somehow, the party has always managed to claw back from the brink and return to the centre-stage with a bang. However, never before has the MQM faced the kind of challenge that has emerged with the arrest of its founding leader Altaf Hussain in London on suspicion of money-laundering. This latest test remains unprecedented even by the standards of the MQM, which often thrives in confrontations and uses them to galvanise its hardcore workers and supporters alike.
Although Altaf Hussain was released on personal bail early Saturday without any formal charges being framed against him, he is to appear before the authorities whenever required. This means that the challenge for the party and its leader is not yet over. The money laundering case is likely to hang over Altaf Hussain in the days to come, keeping his party and workers on the tenterhooks.
The very suspicion of money laundering by one of the front-line Pakistani politicians in Britain itself remains an exceptional development. After all, facing a crackdown by domestic state authorities, managing dissent within the party ranks or fighting a turf war with a rival political force is one thing and facing investigations in a foreign land is totally a different matter. The British investigation probe challenge can only be managed through the legal course and not through the use of street power and building up political pressure. Even if the Pakistan government sincerely tries to help the beleaguered MQM leader, it has its limitations since Altaf Hussain is a British citizen.
The situation will be a test case for the skill and political acumen of the MQM’s first and second tier of leadership on how it manages the expectations of its workers – known for their unrelenting support and loyalty to Altaf Hussain – and the domestic and foreign ground realities.
In a way, it will be the first crisis in which the MQM’s founding leader won’t be handling the matter as directly as he used to because of the force of circumstances and his reported frail health. He will be depending more on his lieutenants to do the job of not just fighting his legal battle but also keeping his political legacy and the grip on the party and its strongholds intact.
For a party like the MQM, in which Altaf Hussain remains a larger-than-life personality and the main fulcrum in all its decision-making – giving a seal of approval and legitimacy to all party office-bearers and lawmakers to operate on his behalf – this will require a new set of internal standard operating procedures and flexibility within its organisational structure so that it can run the show in case of his short or prolonged absence because of these investigations.
The MQM’s local and London leadership will have to walk a tight rope in managing its hardcore workers, young hot-heads and loyalists to prevent any major outburst of violent emotions in case of Altaf Hussain’s re-arrest or framing of charges against him. Despite the MQM being an organised party, this in no way will prove a mean task. It will require a delicate balancing act of demonstrating controlled aggression and protests vis-à-vis playing by the book and according to the law.
After all, the MQM cannot be seen taking the arrest of its leader lying down. This will be seen as an act of betrayal by its workers and loyalists.
At least in the first round, the MQM has managed the crisis well with two days of more or less complete shutdown of Karachi and prolonged sit-ins in various parts of the country, though even these tactics have many detractors. These protests and some ‘spontaneous’ sporadic incidents of violence in Karachi – from which the MQM was quick to distance itself – were aimed more for domestic consumption rather than making any impact on the British authorities or their legal process.
However, the MQM leadership played a positive role in bringing Karachi back to normalcy even before Altaf Hussain’s release on bail and by vocally condemning the incidents of aerial firing, forced closure of shops and setting ablaze of vehicles.
Keeping Karachi peaceful if Altaf Hussain is re-arrested would prove a Herculean task given the city’s complicated set of ethnic and sectarian contradictions where there are many violent political, religious, extremist groups as well as crime mafias which have the potential to rock the boat.
So far the government and all the other major political stakeholders in the city have played a positive role by expressing words of sympathy for the MQM leader in his testing times and by refraining from point-scoring. This was the need of the hour.
But if the money laundering investigation drags on or takes a more serious turn, it will also be a test case for the other parties too.
The idea of expanding the turf could be too tempting. The PPP, the PML-N, the PTI and the other religious and rightwing parties could want to exploit the situation in their favour. This could force the MQM to take a more hard-line posture, which would not be a good omen for the city.
Within the MQM, the challenge would be how to ensure a smooth transition and operations of the party if Altaf Hussain is forced out from its active leadership.
The money laundering investigation and its aftermath were not a bolt out of the blue for the MQM. This development was anticipated and the party had already started to give indications in this regard and adjust itself accordingly. Altaf Hussain had been talking about an international conspiracy against him for fairly sometime now and party workers and leaders had recently – only a couple of weeks before he was arrested – staged a massive show of solidarity with him.
This shows that the MQM has prepared in advance for this kind of eventuality. The most immediate challenge for the MQM leadership would be to stay as a cohesive and united force even in the absence of its leader no matter what many of the doomsayers predict about its future power tussle and the likely consequences of any race for the top position. For any infighting would not just be damaging for the party – which has a large number of critics accusing it of using organised force and violence to dominate – but also for the overall peace of the city.
Like any well-knit party, the chances are that even in the worst case scenario, the mainstream MQM will be able to maintain its unity under those leaders who enjoy the blessings of Altaf Hussain despite some likely dissents or defections within its ranks.
For a party that has transformed and matured with the age of its leaders – many of whom are now no more – the transition where Altaf Hussain might take a backseat will prove another daunting task. But the MQM has indeed come a long way from where it started. It made a transition from a party playing the narrow ethnic card to that of Muttihada Qaumi Movement and is now making efforts expand roots in the other parts of Pakistan. It has all the potential to again surprise its critics who predict that Altaf Hussain’s short or prolonged absence will result in infighting and prove the beginning of its end.
However, in the near-to-mid-term, the likely transition within the MQM will keep the politics of urban Sindh volatile and the MQM leaders, workers and supporters on their toes.
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