Feudocracy vs democracy: PTI may have young blood but we deliver, says MQM
According to Jalil, Hussain believes that young people should participate in politics.
KARACHI:
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Istehkaam-e-Jamhooriat rally on Sunday brought out its loyal supporters and leaders of other political parties, but the energy of the other major rally in Pakistan today, by former cricketer Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Lahore, was missing.
In terms of numbers, the MQM’s rally was a success. Tens of thousands attended, including members of the Hindu community. The organisational skills of the MQM to put together such a large-scale event at short notice were on display. The messaging was consistent, as party chief Altaf Hussain and other leaders stuck to the theme of the rally - supporting democracy and President Asif Ali Zardari, as well as criticising the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for allegedly using derogatory language to refer to the president.
However, unlike the PTI event, the rally wasn’t attended by young teenagers and adults, and fleets of land cruisers and Prados that leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) had used to travel to the rally stood as a stark contrast to the party’s ideology of working against landlords and feudal lords and representing the middle class.
The MQM’s roots lie in student activism. Party leader Hussain found his calling as an activist while at the Karachi University, and young leaders like former nazim Mustafa Kamal was surrounded by young men who wanted a photograph with him.
What does the MQM make of the PTI capitalising on a younger target audience?
MQM’s Nasreen Jalil, who has served as deputy nazim, said it was a “positive sign” that people had become more aware and were involved in the political process. “Imran Khan speaks very well,” she told The Express Tribune, “However, he has no team that can deliver. The MQM has been working for 25 years and our people have delivered in politics, including the development in Karachi or good governance.”
Jalil said that the MQM’s leadership - including its representatives in the provincial and national assemblies “rose from the middle class”. “We do not have tribal leaders or feudal lords in the party.”
According to Jalil, Altaf Hussain believes that young people - even if they do not join the MQM - should participate in politics. MPA Faisal Subzwari used his own example to illustrate his party’s strategy of ‘inducting and introducing young people into electoral politics’. “I’m a deputy parliamentary leader and 38 of our 51 members in the provincial assembly were first-timers.
“While young voters are very idealistic, the reality check when one enters politics is quite harsh.”
Referring to Imran Khan, he said: “The politics of defiance is very easy. However, working within the system to strive for the betterment of people is different.”
Subzwari explained how frustrating ‘real politics’ can be. “I introduced an anti-domestic violence bill in 2007, it got approved in 2011. “I remember how much lobbying we had to do for another bill simply because the word ‘hari’ (farm hand) was in the text. These people [referring to the landed class] are not the true representatives of people. We have a ‘feudocracy’, not a democracy.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2011.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Istehkaam-e-Jamhooriat rally on Sunday brought out its loyal supporters and leaders of other political parties, but the energy of the other major rally in Pakistan today, by former cricketer Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Lahore, was missing.
In terms of numbers, the MQM’s rally was a success. Tens of thousands attended, including members of the Hindu community. The organisational skills of the MQM to put together such a large-scale event at short notice were on display. The messaging was consistent, as party chief Altaf Hussain and other leaders stuck to the theme of the rally - supporting democracy and President Asif Ali Zardari, as well as criticising the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for allegedly using derogatory language to refer to the president.
However, unlike the PTI event, the rally wasn’t attended by young teenagers and adults, and fleets of land cruisers and Prados that leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) had used to travel to the rally stood as a stark contrast to the party’s ideology of working against landlords and feudal lords and representing the middle class.
The MQM’s roots lie in student activism. Party leader Hussain found his calling as an activist while at the Karachi University, and young leaders like former nazim Mustafa Kamal was surrounded by young men who wanted a photograph with him.
What does the MQM make of the PTI capitalising on a younger target audience?
MQM’s Nasreen Jalil, who has served as deputy nazim, said it was a “positive sign” that people had become more aware and were involved in the political process. “Imran Khan speaks very well,” she told The Express Tribune, “However, he has no team that can deliver. The MQM has been working for 25 years and our people have delivered in politics, including the development in Karachi or good governance.”
Jalil said that the MQM’s leadership - including its representatives in the provincial and national assemblies “rose from the middle class”. “We do not have tribal leaders or feudal lords in the party.”
According to Jalil, Altaf Hussain believes that young people - even if they do not join the MQM - should participate in politics. MPA Faisal Subzwari used his own example to illustrate his party’s strategy of ‘inducting and introducing young people into electoral politics’. “I’m a deputy parliamentary leader and 38 of our 51 members in the provincial assembly were first-timers.
“While young voters are very idealistic, the reality check when one enters politics is quite harsh.”
Referring to Imran Khan, he said: “The politics of defiance is very easy. However, working within the system to strive for the betterment of people is different.”
Subzwari explained how frustrating ‘real politics’ can be. “I introduced an anti-domestic violence bill in 2007, it got approved in 2011. “I remember how much lobbying we had to do for another bill simply because the word ‘hari’ (farm hand) was in the text. These people [referring to the landed class] are not the true representatives of people. We have a ‘feudocracy’, not a democracy.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2011.