More questions than answers
There is little in what Mustafa Kamal said in the course of a two-hour news conference that has not been said before
Mustafa Kamal addresses a press conference in Karachi. PHOTO: AYESHA MIR/ EXPRESS
Twenty-four hours after the re-entry to the politics of Karachi by its ex-mayor Mustafa Kamal and it is still unclear whether this is a bombshell or a damp squib. When examined in detail, there is little in what he said in the course of a two-hour news conference that has not been said before, albeit rather more sotto voce and with considerably more caution. The plethora of allegations made against Altaf Hussain, including of connections to Indian intelligence agency RAW, involvement in murders of party workers and of being inebriated when addressing his followers from London are certainly not new. In the case of most of these allegations, there is as yet no substantive proof via documentary or other evidentiary material — and until there is, they remain unsubstantiated and have to be treated as such.
Equally diaphanous is the announcement of a new political party by Mustafa Kamal. It has no name and presumably no membership, nor party infrastructure and if it is funded at all we do not know by who or what and by how much. As to what all this might mean to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), there is little beyond a somewhat muted response along traditional lines — nothing to see here, move along please. Except that this is not good enough in this instance. The Mustafa Kamal intervention is notable not so much for its substance but that it happened at all, and must have been made at some personal risk. It is an incontrovertible challenge to the power and position of Altaf Hussain and no other senior party figure.
The appropriation of the national flag as a — presumably — interim party symbol is a dramatic and possibly unconstitutional move presumably designed to create an image of overarching inclusivity. The tears midway through the press conference felt decidedly crocodilian, and the threadbare outline of a new political party smacked more of a contrived and transitional artefact than a bricks-and-mortar entity that may challenge the supremacy of the MQM. All in all, a paradox packaged in several conundrums, and only the coming hours and days will reveal if we are being tricked or treated.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 5th, 2016.
Equally diaphanous is the announcement of a new political party by Mustafa Kamal. It has no name and presumably no membership, nor party infrastructure and if it is funded at all we do not know by who or what and by how much. As to what all this might mean to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), there is little beyond a somewhat muted response along traditional lines — nothing to see here, move along please. Except that this is not good enough in this instance. The Mustafa Kamal intervention is notable not so much for its substance but that it happened at all, and must have been made at some personal risk. It is an incontrovertible challenge to the power and position of Altaf Hussain and no other senior party figure.
The appropriation of the national flag as a — presumably — interim party symbol is a dramatic and possibly unconstitutional move presumably designed to create an image of overarching inclusivity. The tears midway through the press conference felt decidedly crocodilian, and the threadbare outline of a new political party smacked more of a contrived and transitional artefact than a bricks-and-mortar entity that may challenge the supremacy of the MQM. All in all, a paradox packaged in several conundrums, and only the coming hours and days will reveal if we are being tricked or treated.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 5th, 2016.