New MQM leadership must stress on party unity
The decision of founder and party chief of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain to stay away from active politics needs the party to take over the mantle and continue to surge the movement in the blood-laden politics of Pakistan. Else the Pakistani establishment, particularly the Army which has been targeting the MQM for decades will get an immediate opportunity to crush the movement once again. It is learnt that his distancing from the MQM affairs came as a result of the revolt led by the top brass of the party which badly wanted him to evict from the movement that he founded long back in 1984 as Mohajir Quami Movement initially.
However this revolt from party seniors was expected as they were all tired of his controversial style of functioning and controlling party activities in an autocratic mode far away from london since 1991. Despite his announcements to handover the powers of re-organisation, policy making and decision making to the co-ordination committee, the party's mayoral candidate, Waseem Akhtar, created history by winning the election in Karachi Metropolitan Corporation from jail only. Many say Akhtar's landslide victory is no other than a sign of the continued legacy of the ousted leader Hussain for which still the MQM largely remains a potential political force in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan.
Hussain, after almost his virtual removal from the party, had created ruckus on Monday by calling “Pakistan — a cancer to the entire world” and this triggered violence and death back home in Pakistan. This gave an opportunity to the Pakistani military and security agencies to arrest the top leaders of the MQM and locked the party headquarters in Karachi, after booking a case of sedition against him. Though the self-exiled leader apologised later for his incendiary comment, yet it is not at all clear whether this would have any serious impact on the functioning of the MQM.
Meanwhile, after Pakistan's slapping of the charge of treason against Hussain came into public for his inflammatory speech, the US State Department issued a statement by saying that “in a democracy, critical opinion should be encouraged, not silenced”. Highlighting the importance of public assembly and freedom of speech from diverse voices within society, the US is indirectly showing concern and support for the exiled leader who has remained a serious player in Pakistan's faction-ridden politics for long. The growing signs of disillusionment with Hussain can be rightly be observed from the expressions of Akhtar, who opines that his people no more aspires for any blood splitting, but rather demands peace and welfare for his embattled people who suffered a lot in the past in the hands of the Pakistani State. But it remains to be seen how the party workers who once raised the staple slogan like “humein manzil nahi rehnuma chahiye” (we don't need the destination, but the leader) forges ahead without the shadow of the quaid (leader) of Hussain.