In the political history of Pakistan, the post-2013 political scene will always be remembered for the humiliating fall from centre-stage of the founders of two major political parties: Nawaz Sharif, the chief of his own faction of the Pakistan Muslim League, and Altaf Hussain, the creator of Muttahida Qaumi Movement. Although the tales of both leaders are quite different, their woes seamlessly unite the binary fate as both of them seem to have landed themselves in a position from where it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for them to remain relevant in the country's politics. While Altaf will be remembered for the grievous wound he inflicted on himself through his August 25, 2016, speech in which he targeted the country's institutions, particularly the armed forces, in a despicable manner and even asked his followers to raise anti-Pakistan slogans, Nawaz will be known for his conviction in the Panama Papers case and his slew of attacks on the institutions in a bombastic declamatory fashion. Although Nawaz is yet to outpace Altaf insofar as the two politicians' attacks on the Establishment are concerned, his party leaders are describing his ouster as an assault on the Two-Nation Theory! They also equate his ouster from the Prime Minister's House with an "attack" on the country's nuclear capability.
The marked difference between the ordeals of the two politicians is the reality that while Nawaz Sharif, who has been facing corruption cases in an accountability court, continues to enjoy the advantage of his party's governments in Islamabad, Punjab and Balochistan in order to display his ever-growing belligerence against the higher judiciary and the army, Altaf Hussain's position is profoundly weakened by the fact that not only has his own party jettisoned him, a new party that comprises many former faces of the MQM, particularly former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal, has entered the arena with the objective of laying claim to Karachi and other parts of urban Sindh. In this process, the MQM-Pakistan led by another former Karachi mayor, Dr Farooq Sattar, is struggling, unsuccessfully, to maintain its sway over the city. There are two challenges that the party faces at this point: the poaching of its workers and leaders (Karachi deputy mayor Arshad Vohra being the latest MQM casualty) by the PSP of Mustafa Kamal, and the continuing influence of Altaf Hussain on a section of the party's cadre. It has not been able to effectively address either. Dr Sattar must be mindful of the fact that it was a highly impressive performance of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in Karachi in the 2013 elections that initiated the process of the unraveling of a party that had been dominating urban Sindh's political landscape since its founding in the mid-1980s as Muhajir Qaumi Movement. The results of the 2018 elections will show how and to what extent the MQM-P will be able to deal with the PTI-PSP challenge, in an environment that is also characterized by the pro-Altaf forces' open hostility to newly-formed MQM headquarters in Karachi's PIB Colony. While a wave of confusion and doubt pervades the PML-N camp ahead of the 2018 general elections, the fortunes of the MQM-P appear to be bleak. It seems to have few prospects of retaining its traditional vote bank until just a few years ago - and this is an organisation which had unchallenged hold on the Urdu-speaking areas of Sindh.
However, there can be no easy answer to whether or not the party is nearing its demise because the present-day MQM is found to be still working - inside and outside the legislatures - as a dependable cog in the wheel of the system that helped midwife its birth three decades ago.
Comments
Comments are closed.