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The MQM in Karachi
Last month, MQM Chief Altaf Hussain pushed many people on the defensive by articulating their ill-concealed desire for...
The writer is a director at the South Asia Free Media Association, Lahore khaled.ahmed@tribune.com.pk
Last month, MQM Chief Altaf Hussain pushed many people on the defensive by articulating their ill-concealed desire for a regime-change. He was not far wrong in his pulse-taking. The army is not happy with the PPP, the PML-N wants mid-term change, TV anchors are quivering with their toppling recipes, and small parties like Tehreek-e-Insaf want it because they smell “national government” in the air.
It develops that those who want the PPP out don’t like the MQM either. The army has a reason to be wary. General Aslam Beg was friendly, but General Asif Nawaz was not. Then General Musharraf was friendly, but General Kayani may not be friendly to the same extent. General Kayani, safe in his tenure-plus-extension, may yet be wary of both the PPP and the PML-N.
Under General Musharraf, the MQM was anti-Taliban and anti-Lal Masjid. It was also anti-judiciary after Musharraf sacked the judges. The MQM showed muscle when a popular Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry tried to enter Karachi. But it shrank from the NRO and mended fences with the restored Supreme Court after accepting the reopening of criminal cases against hundreds of its workers. In the process, the MQM has made absolute putty of its thinking process.
Pakistan’s leaders acquire wisdom when abroad. Altaf Hussain was the first to do so. He was followed by Benazir and Nawaz Sharif, which led to the signing of the Charter of Democracy. Altaf Hussain embraced secularism even as mainstream parties fought shy of such labels. The coalition of three secular parties— PPP, ANP and the MQM— looked natural till ethnicity undermined wisdom. In a Mohajir-versus-Pakhtun contest, the MQM thinks only of its supremacy in Karachi.
Karachi gives the MQM the seats it has in the Sindh Assembly and allows it to become the make-weight party in the National Assembly. If the army wants regime-change, the MQM can oblige by getting out of the coalition in Islamabad. Two migrant communities — Mohajir and Pakhtun — had clashed in the drugs ghetto of Sohrab Goth in 1986. A third migration is on the cards now: the Sindhi flood migration. Altaf Hussain cannot like it.
Brigadier AR Siddiqi thinks Mohajirs revere Altaf Hussain because of their traditional respect for father figures. Urban communities never do that, and Mohajirs were urban in India. On the other hand, Shahi Syed is scared of sections of the community he seeks to protect. Ethnic charisma rests on partisan violence as assurance of security. The Baloch of Lyari loved Rehman Dakait for the same reason.
Bertrand Russell in Power (Routledge 1992) said: “The power impulse has two forms: explicit in leaders; implicit in their followers” (p.12). He could have added a more primordial factor causing desire for power: fear. The Sindhi influx to the cities after 1947 was postponed by the migration of Partition. Now the flood has made it possible. Fear will push the new migrants to violence and, depending on the size of this migration, the PPP will benefit from it. Karachi, up to 75 per cent ghettoised, is no longer a melting pot. It is an ethnic battlefield till it is normalised by democracy.
The Pakhtun counterforce in Karachi comes from the drug mafia, the Taliban and al Qaeda plus the madrassa network. The army fights this counterforce elsewhere with a strong lacing of ambivalence which stumps the Americans. It may do the same in Karachi. Democracy, while undermined by ethnic politics, is on the side of the MQM. Any attempt at using ambivalence as policy will harm democracy.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 5th, 2010.
Reader Comments (38)
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Thank you Khalid Sahib, as always excellent piece.Recommend
Despite being a chronic fan of Khlaed Ahmed, I am befuddled on what he is trying to say here. The article shows rare sparks of his characteristic genius when he analyses the Mohajir urban mentality and the imperatives for power etc., but then declares that Pakhtun counterforce (to whom?) in Karachi comes from the drug mafia, the Taliban and al Qaeda plus the madrassa network. I am absolutely confused as to how at least the Taliban and al Qaeda could have contributed to the electoral (and street) popularity of ANP in Karach – a secular party as per the learned writer’s own admittance- while target killing its ranks and file in Khyber-Pukhtunkhwah. I look forward to reading a clearer analysis by him in his next column.Recommend
People of Pakistan have been divided on the basis of religion, language, cast and creed.
MQM is the only political party who want to return the power to 98% of the total population of the country so that people who have been made hostage for the last 63 years by the rest of 2% of the population.
The day power will be transferred to 98% of the population, Pakistan will come out from all sort of problems.
Mr. Altaf Hussain is the great leader of 21st century. He is the one who assembled the middle class people under one roof. He has given the thought which will change the fate of Pakistan and Pakistanis.
It is the poor people who are suffering in the country, not the rich class who are minting money. The time is coming fast when the next Prime Minister will come from MQM.
All middle class people of Pakistan have already started gathering under the roof of MQM to break the handcuffs.
When the sun of MQM will rise in the country, the entire world will notice the change in Pakistan.
One must support the cause of MQM to support Pakistan, as in every developed country governments are accountable to its people, but in Pakistan, people are accountable to the government.
The rule of law will prevail in the country the day MQM will come in power in the Federal Capital.Recommend
I think you are right that Karachi has become a pot that’s boiling but not melting (sick)
Warning : Gross generalizations in effect
IMHO problem is due to the fact that,
1) Sindhi’s nurse a grudge for not being ‘masters of their land’ and have a very pervasive culture of entitlement that violates merits i.e. quota system . This is what pits them against Mohajirs.
2) Mohajirs in general (falsely) believe that they are intellectually and culturally superior to all other ‘sons of soils’ and this where they fail to bridge the gap with all the other ethnicities.
3) Pukhtuns dont assimilate very well in any culture outside of their own and are generally ethno-centric and tend to support their Kin even if he/she is stranger to them. i.e. Pukhtun passing through the street will always jump into a fight for his fellow Pukhtun even if they are strangers. This kind of behavior is unsuitable for a metropolitan like Karachi. Mohajirs did not used to do this before but now they do in MQM’s command.
Peace outRecommend
The absense of the rule of law has caused tribalisation of politics. It is all about territory, encroachments, aggression and defence. The fear of anarchy is real. Those wnat a status-quo find solution in dictatorship. Those who want change talk about democracy ….a give and take process.Recommend
In the 5th para you say ” if the army wants regime change —- ” I take it that you are looking at this from a factual or ‘ grounded’ point of view. Don’t you think it should be ” if the people want regime change ——”
This is possibly trivial but in my mind this stood out in your otherwise learned write up.Recommend
I think that we all want a change. Altaf Hussain has felt the innermost feeling of most of us and given a vent to what we could not say. But I am sure that this change does not mean a change of government through change of faces. Pakistan can ill-afford such changes any more.
The country has been in the grip of feudal barons and landed aristocracy ever since its birth. The founding father of the country did not live long enough to give the nation a constitution even though he made it clear through his speeches as to what type of Pakistan he wanted.
Are we heading for a revolution as Altaf Hussain says? There is hunger, poverty, helplessness and injustice. The hunger is increasing with each passing day as the prices of essential commodities become out of reach of the common people. If this hunger continues to increase then let everyone know that a bloody revolution or whatever you may call it is knocking at the door.
The people of Pakistan above all, the so-called silent majority, must realize that the country is moving from bad to worse. If they do not awake from their reverie a catastrophe may fall soon.Recommend
Parvez, even if you say, ” if the people want regime change ——”, it cannot change the fact that it was always army and US, that brought regime change. Accept the reality.Recommend
I am quite straight and open to say that MQM is a fascist party with zero tolerance towards its opponents and critics. I guess, MQM should abandon its fascist policies and show respect for other ethnicities in Karachi before claiming to be the torch bearer of social and economic justice.Recommend
Only a delusional “expert” could advocate a “military operation in Karachi. I hate MQM too, but to talk abt operation is stoking fires of civil war. Clearly esteemed writer doesn’t know the consequences. Horrific as it may sound, the status quo (intermittent episodes of target killings) is still way better than what violence a military operation (read civil war) would bring home. I’m sorry for sounding cold blooded, but unconsciously, we Karachi’ites are willing to pay the cost of target killings than opt for a civil war. It’s a trade off.Recommend
I am really confused as to what Khaled Ahmed is trying to say. Maybe he should write part II like some others have done on Sialkot incident.
I agree with Mr Ahmed on the point that support to MQM is not as a result of ‘father figure’. It is more ‘likes votes likes’. While villagers vote feudals, people of Karachi has always voted what they look like: middle class semi literate people. Even in England, feudals still make to the parliament through House of Lords.
Karachi’ites never had ‘Jagirs’. They were educated urban middle class and they would never vote anyone they cannot identify with (Jagirdaars). Even before MQM, people chosen by people of Karachi were Jamat-e-Islami’s candidates; who were also semi literate middle class people.
It is fear of being surrounded by ‘others’ that keeps people of Karachi together and under one party. If you look at the policies of MQM, they are quite similar to Jamat-e-Islami. MQM calls for being united under ethnic and linguistic lines, while Jamat-e-Islami uses religion as a line of demarcation. Both like discipline and rule with a carrot and stick policy.Recommend
Which party is not ethnic? So is Altaf’s MQM. History will judge him that way only We should also not forget that each party is actuallt ethnic in nature but behind every party’s ethnicity is either Islam or secularism. Secularism behind MQM’s Urdu-speaking ethnicity. Islam is behind PML-N’s Punjabi-speaking ethnicity. Secularism is behind PPP’s Sindhi-speaking ethnicity. So is secularism behind ANP’s Pashtun-speaking ethnicity. We the citizens of each province more and of Pakistan less should nationalize our moral grounds to force these parties to step up to the plate and bring either a soft revolution or a do or die revolution to press the reset button otherwise it will become cntr+alt+delRecommend
Director South Asia Biased Media Association. Wonder why Express fills its columns with such black tar.Recommend
The analysis doesn’t make any sense. The Taliban/Alqaeda hate the ANP; they have killed many ANP workers and leaders in KP so why would they join forces in Karachi? Just a few weeks ago the son of Mian Iftikhar Hussain, KP minister of information, was brutally killed by the Taliban. The animals they are, they further killed another eight people at the funeral by a suicide attack. How do you expect us to believe that the ANP will tolerate the Taliban?
The real reason Altaf Hussain made that stupid remark about the patriotic generals taking over the country was because he knows that if the army was called in to Karachi to clean the mess the MQM will have the most to lose as they are the real terrorists in Karachi. The Pukhtuns will always remember how they were stopped from migrating to Karachi during the Swat IDP crisis. The fear-mongering and hysteria generated by the MQM was shameful.Recommend
Democracy ?
We don’t deserve democracy, accept it or not..ever since its independence Pakistan always flourished in the NON Democratic era.
Facts are there for every ‘wise’ fella to read and take.Recommend
perhaps if democracy survives in pakistan then khaled ahmed would have to swallow his words!
after a recent cross country tour i have seen an upsurge in support for mqm in other provinces
Karachi, up to 75 per cent ghettoised,
may i humbly inquire from khaled as to his source for above?Recommend
I am not a pashtun but felt sad disgusted by remarks against this community in the article.
Mr ahmad looks like ignorant of the facts that majority of pashtuns are labour class, taxi/ ricshaw drivers watchman—- where is extremism in that.
really sad to read this misleading fact.
Sindhis or that matter any pakistani has the right to move to karachi. no one needs a visa from certain segmnet.Recommend
I think Mr. Hunain Ali needs to look at the facts to speak
he is part of the urban mindset which regresses this nation, unfortuntely these are also the people who belong to our technocratic class, and believe the only way forward is through a high handed rule where most common citizens are denied of their rights.
it is outright obnoxius on the part of these elite who think taking away the rights is tantamount to progression. While rights are not a problem for the weatlhy it is the oppresses who suffer,
i know there is going to be a barrage of condemnation from military apologists who believe the oppressed are worse off in a democracy, and therefore i will assess those claims now:
it should be noted, contrary to a naive statment by Mr Hunain, that most disorder and anarchy in the country has come under a dictator.
take for example the rule of Ayub, Zia and Musharraf
In Ayubs rule, a major part of our country was sidelined, which led to an eventual destruction
Those who believe that Bhutto was responsible should also remember that what happened in 1971 was the trigger effect, the bengalis were oppressed, and looked down upon for more than 20 years
it should also be understood, that during zia rule, a large number of militant elements were brought in to the country and the next goverment was expected to live with the repercussion
In Musharrafs rule, the most recent in our history, the problems in the country escalated manifold, first there was the baluchistan problem, where the ISI was freely kidnapping and torturing baluch on the pretext of them being terrorists. There are still over 1000 people missing and to no avail. Another incident of grotesque violence was May12, and the death of the leader of the largest political party in the nation.
The list of such incidents can go on, but much evience is provided above for all those “wise” fellas who want to thinkRecommend
A party based on ethnicity and linguistic demands is trying to hijack the whole nation. This is an alarming situation.Recommend
I do not know why Tribune Newspaper published his article even it is full of controversies. Tribune Management is not well aware of this article and published it without any proof reading. Please i suggest TRIBUNE management before publishing of any article they must get into narrative.
Pakhtun is not extremist anymore. the allegation which placed against them are altogether based on lie.
I am ashamed to call myself Pakistani. Who is Mohajir? In my opinion in pakistan Nobody is known to be Muhajir. if they are resident of sindh, they must be called sindhi. Why people are calling them Mohajir? Why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Recommend
as a ps: to ,my earlier comment:
my observations re: upsurge does not mean mqm would sweep or even make substantial gains in the next election/s
rather
it means their message is reverberating with the lower and middle class folks in other provinces, and they see some ray of hope with mqmRecommend
Pakistani “intellectuals”, as other sections of Pakistani state and society, have started to come public in denigrating the Pakhtuns. This is out of desperation because they realise that they cannot save Pakistan from collapse and disintegration. They demonstrated the same behaviour against the Bengalies before the emergence of Bangladesh. Had it not been so, the writer would not have thought in his wildest imagination that Pakhtuns in Karachi consit of Taliban, Al-Qaeda and drug mafia.Recommend
Marshal law,
Marshal law like set up,
change in the existing system,
or Revolution,
I am still failed to understand what he really want to say
or what is his real desire, is not clear.
Disputed statement,aired by him during the speech has created a war like circumstances
between the political parties and he has changed his version time and again.
When I consider the different kind of statement i come to the conclusion that he was not
clear in its own mind before stated so.
But we should admit that MQM leader is feeling that ground reality pointing to the tremendous change or revolution.Recommend
Please refer to this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAvBcEfMVQo How is MQM anti-Pakhtoon? Rather you should have mentioned, that MQM is against the Pashtoons who are a part of the Land, Drug, and the Militant mafia. There is a huge difference.Recommend
To the haters:
If you so hate PAKISTAN get out of KARACHI. Go where you came from and live in your imagined utopia, your land of milk and honey, where your proud race can prosper. You cannot continue to stab Pakistan in the back, bad mouth it, and then continue to take the jobs of those who are truly patriotic Pakistanis as well. If you respect diversity, want to abide by the rules, and consider yourself first and foremost PAKISTANI you are welcome to stay in Karachi. If not GO AWAY and take the haters with you.Recommend
The author of this article needs to spend some real time in Karachi, interact with a cross section of karachites with an open mind and then perhaps write something worthwhile. This narrative is a sheer waste of time and has given me the impression that writers of Lahore have no idea of actual ground realities prevalent in the city of Karachi.Recommend
Unfortunately we have reached to a point of no return in Karachi. All political parties have rigid views & are not willing to accomodate others opinion. Live & let live others.Recommend
aristo:
agree with you…khaled is an astutue observer but like any other writer who has to churn out regular columns sometimes they succumb to intellectual procrastination
armchair observations have to be blended with on ground experiences to provide sound analysis…bookish information alone cannot be distilled without what they call humintel as the agencies all over have learned…Recommend
Mariam I do agree with you about how regime change comes about but is it so wrong to mention how it should come about.Recommend
I am no MQM supporter or frankly any other party. if I was to select could the lesser of evils i would select MQM. However they have proved better administrators of the city than anyone.
Look at the pastuns. they have two provinces of their own. its not hidden what is happening there.Recommend
Sifting through the hyperbole and the mumbo jumbo the fact remains Pakistani’s for too long now have recycled the same old sherbet in a new bottle way too many times. How long before we realize that calling an ass a Donkey doesn’t make it look any prettier?
Frankly, I am tired, no fed up with the PML’s, PPP and ANP’s and peeved to the hilt about their brazen nonchalance towards the country and its people. It’s amazing to read and hear people of seemingly some education and in turn the capacity to deduce and discern exalting the virtues of democracy in Pakistan. Fine!
Here is the 64K rupee question. How do you get democracy in a feudal society? In a society where landowners, landlords and waderas consider all who work for them as their personal property to be used and abused wily nily. Hardly a week goes by where you hear of some wadera frustrated by the shackles of religion barges in a harree’s house to rape his daughter or his wife. How is this haree or those like him ever to exercise choice or have the liberty to exercise a democratic choice?
Altaf Hussain maybe a nightmare as a dinner guest or to chair a strategic session. However, at this point in time this goober outlines what makes the most sense. I guess sense is perhaps too much to ask of my Pakistani brethren? The MQM is the only party with a track record of good Gevernance in Karachi unmatched by any of the local Governments in the Punjab or KP.
It will be a cold day in hell before I would ever vote again for any of the round of usual suspects the likes of ANP, PPP and PML and their kissing cousins.Recommend
Basically, MQM brought out in Karachi due to ignorance of system, A revolution was started in Karachi over the admission policy. Now MQM exposed itself as a biggest political power in Karachi. As the increasing in strength of MQM, Enemies of MQM also populated with massive numbers. Now, MQM holds great in Karachi but its enemies also hold great in Karachi.
Actually, Karachi exposed with the name of “Mega City” in the regime of MQM. Whenever MQM won massively, They are done their hard work for the development of Karachi with out any discriminants.
Now MQM occupy peoples of all sects like : Urdu Speakers, Pashtoons, balochis, Punjabis and Sindhis.. But I have said, MQM has a great hold in Karachi but its enemies have also great hold in Karachi and whenever they get any opportunity, then they hit back on MQM.
My personal views as a Karachitie, I Support MQM, bcoz of their hard work and devotion for the KarachitiesRecommend
To all the MQM supporters who think that MQM has done a great job governing Karachi can you explain then that why does it need to employ fascist tactics to control the city? Why the massive rigging of Karachi ballot boxes (youtube has tons of proof of this so don’t waste my time arguing otherwise) in 2008? Why the continuous killing of poor Pushtun labourers who come to Karachi to take refuge from the Taliban? Why the completely unreasonable anti judiciary/pro Musharraf stand?
MQM is in the city government why don’t they increase the police force to tackle crime? Did the MQM allow any investigation of the overpass that collapsed – we will never find out how much money was stolen in its construction? Did you all forget about what happened on the 12th of May2007? Did you enjoy seeing your television reporters ducking for cover while the MQM storm troopers fired at them with automatic weapons? I can go on and on…..
We all have to think beyond ethnicity if we want Karachi and Pakistan to prosper.Recommend
Other parties, even MQM, have moved on and drawn support from more than one segment and ethnicity of the population but ANP remains ethnocentric to this day. Despite espousing communal politics it keeps moving to other areas of the country where it never had support and which were never its territories, so to speak. Why not reach out to the minorities at your home province, the Hazaras that is, before invading Karachi? Did Karachi come in ANP’s jahez? If you must move to Karachi, inhabited by the people who lost their lives for Pakistan, at least tone down your communal politics, that is of crying discrimination, creating rifts among Pakistanis and pitting one group against another.
There is merit to the claim that Karachi ( and Pakistan) belong to everyone but those who have lived in a place before naturally feel possessive about their “home” and those who come afterwards must respect that.
What would be the reaction of ANP be if 5 million Karachites moved to Peshawar? Or ( horrors) Punjabi “settlers” for that matterRecommend
For all the MQM bashers, please remember that MQM has been the elected representative of Karachiites for more then 02 decades. Its vote bank, if in your opinion has not increased, then it has also not decreased. Showing a clear sign of consistency. As for all other political parties they have been showing huge fluctuations, clearly indicating that these are not based on any of the political ideologies. But they only derive support from the “personalities” & the corrupt fuedal system.
As for ANP in Karachi, the video of Shahi Syed that Mubasshir Lucman showed in his program is enough to show their mentality. ANP operating in Karachi is totally different from ANP in K-P. And that needs realization from the Central leadership of ANP.Recommend
to relate the whole pakthuns of karachi with drugs and talbanization for me is not good. i know many people who come from working class pakthuns and live in karachi and then this writer tries to humiliates a rising party such as tehreek insaaf as a small party i mean i support tehreek insaaf and believe that atleast they are not corrupt and every initiative is started from small and apart from that mqm is a fascist party who has to be dealt with to stabilise the situation in karachi who only gets the majority vote from mohajirs.Recommend
IF YOU CAREFULLY LOOK AT THE SITUATION IN Pakistan , you will notice that except in Karachi and Hyderabad whole Pakistan is divided in biradary system and tribal system which is a great cause of rivalry among them and that could not finish even for coming 100 years as their is no education among them and the tribal and biradary heads who are termed as ruling class of Pakistan are not interested to educate them for their own benefit ,I think they should part in petty states as in Arab and which is tradition of Muslim history to save nation from further bloodshedRecommend
I view this article as unbalanced at different points, like while concluding “Quaid-e-Tehreek pushed MQM supporters at defensive position” the Author did not keep in mind the Way and the Line of Action of MQM, its leadership and its supporters, which is well thought, well analyzed, and covering almost all the loop holes!
In my opinion, MQM Chief’s statement has not only short term influences but also presents MQM’s long term Policies!
While analyzing the Demograpic Distribution in Karachi, its complexities and outcomes, Author forget to mention the root causes, remedies and solution which MQM has eloborated in detail!
I would like to draw attention of learned Author and all others to please keep in mind the current situation of Karachi and whole Pakistan, what possible solutions are there and who is sincere to solve these problems not only in Karachi but also from whole of Pakitan!Recommend