Was the former mayor completely unaware of all the alleged terror and corrupt activities of his former party?
KARACHI: There is no doubt that the Mustafa Kamal saga has affected the MQM’s reputation badly. Once known for its competence, the MQM’s image has been drastically maligned. Mustafa Kamal has not only opened the Pandora’s box of corrupt activities of his former party but also disclosed its alleged link with the Indian intelligence agency, RAW. The offence is considered treasonous in this country. Once a blue-eyed boy of MQM supremo Altaf Hussain, now Kamal has decided to form a new political party that would likely reduce the influence of the MQM. Whatever Mustafa Kamal says in the name of honesty and dignity sounds very attractive to the ears but I have some reservations.
First of all, the former mayor was affiliated with the same political party for many years. Is this possible that he remained completely unaware of all the alleged terror and corrupt activities of his former party during his affiliation? Why did it take so long to awaken his moral self? I wonder if there are any hidden hands that have done so. There is no doubt that Mustafa Kamal proved his mettle during his mayorship. However, being a good mayor is completely different from being a good politician. His decision to launch his own political party appears somewhat amateur to me. Another mind-boggling question is about his associates, on his new-born journey. On the one hand, Anees Qaimkhani has been allegedly involved in Dr Asim Hussain’s case while, on the other, Hammad Siddiqui has been claimed to be allegedly involved in the Baldia Town factory fire, in which more than 250 people died. Mustafa Kamal should have given this matter serious thought before selecting his partners, because this could seriously affect his credibility.
Khalid Faruqi
Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2016.
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