MQM: split after split

One of the standard moves of political party stalwarts breaking away from parent party for whatever reason is to create a splinter ideological group. When they do so, they retain the original name of the party with the suffix nazariati added on. This is precisely the path Dr Farooq Sattar of MQM-Pakistan has threatened to tread if his grievances with the party leadership are not addressed. At a press conference on Friday, Sattar called for a fresh intra-party election because the incumbent leader — Federal Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui — and his associates in the coordination committee did not take mandate from party workers after taking leadership from him.

It may be recalled that following the split of Altaf Hussain-led MQM into London and Pakistan groups, the latter entity was taken over by Sattar. However, just as the party was about to go into campaign mode before the July 25 vote, Sattar faced an internal revolt and was ousted from leadership. This led to further carve-up of the MQM-P into what began to be known as Bahadurabad and PIB groups, with Siddiqui and Sattar leading the two factions respectively. The fragmentation was ostensibly caused by differences over award of Senate tickets. The power struggle continued for some time before they finally decided to bury the hatchet. Still tension kept smoldering under surface and Sattar’s outburst on Friday is an indication his patience with the party has reached the end of his tether. He is peeved at being sidelined by the party ‘because he talked about internal accountability, demanded Mayor Wasim Akhtar explain the expenditure of billions of rupees and asked party leaders to declare their assets’.

Sattar may have a point but his detractors also consider him part of the problem in a party which once ruled the roost in Karachi. With just six NA seats won in the 2018 election, the party has plumbed the lows no one could imagine was possible a few years back.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2018.

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