Former Karachi mayor and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Mustafa Kamal along with another MQM leader, Anis Qaimkhani, have announced the formation of a new political party. More defections are expected in the party after the departure of a senior leader and his accusations that MQM chief Altaf Hussain has links with the Indian intelligence agency RAW.
A new faction of the party will be a major split after the formation of MQM-H in 1992. It poses a new challenge to the party which is already facing many threats, inside and outside the country. Though its vote bank is largely intact, the party has been considerably weakened after a Rangers operation in Karachi. There are also reports that its leader Altaf Hussain is seriously ill and under treatment in a hospital in Germany for a severely damaged liver and affected kidneys. It must have been a factor in Mustafa Kamal’s return to Pakistan. It is believed that former President Pervez Musharraf also fancied his chances to head the party when he had returned to the country ahead of the 2013 general elections, after fears that the MQM chief could be jailed in London for money laundering or the murder of former party leader Dr. Imran Farooq.
MQM MNA Ali Raza Abidi twiteed that Kamal's return is “the last and final card by Chaudhry Nisar,” apparently hinting at a conspiracy behind the former mayor's return. The party alleged it was a conspiracy to malign the MQM after the Federal Investigation Agency had registered a case against Altaf Hussain and other party leaders in the murder case of former MQM leader Dr. Imran Farooq.
Mustafa Kamal’s allegations of the MQM’s RAW links and killings in Karachi are not new, but they are difficult to prove. The allegations have not affected its popularity in Karachi and Hyderabad in the past and it bagged a large number of seats in local elections only a few months ago. However, it appears that the party may not be able to maintain its position in national politics for long. It has continuously suffered losses after reaching its height in the Musharraf government. Its chief is largely to blame for it, for his irresponsible statements against the establishment and style of politics. Last year, he bitterly criticized the army and asked workers to receive weapons training. In his address to party workers, he criticised army officers who had surrendered in Bangladesh during the 1971 war. He also instructed his workers to seek commando training and learn to use weapons to “prepare for battles ahead”. “I request RAW to openly support us, just for once, and give us arms. And then we will tell them, who are agents of RAW; us or those who surrendered,” he said in a veiled reference to the 1971 war, which led to the creation of Bangladesh.
Earlier, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that the party had received funding from India. According to “leaked” media reports, Tariq Mir, a senior MQM leader, told UK authorities about the nexus between his party and the Indian government. He told the London Metropolitan Police that Indians used to pay 800,000 pound sterling to the party on a yearly basis for running operations. According to transcripts of an interview conducted by the UK police on May 30, 2012, the MQM leader had made the statements “voluntarily” and was “not under arrest”.
The MQM started criticizing the military after a crackdown in Karachi started late in 2013, when the murder rate soared and mutilated bodies were found dumped on roads daily. The MQM is accused of racketeering, kidnappings for ransom and targeted killings in Karachi. Police recorded 2,507 murders in the city in 2013, up from 278 in 2006. Initially, the military operation in Karachi was not very successful and targeted killings and extortions continued. However, the situation has improved after the Rangers swooped on MQM’s headquarters and seized arms and arrested criminals last year. It was seen as a direct challenge to the authority of Altaf Hussain. The MQM denies the charges against it, but says that, while it has cooperated with Rangers in the past, the party will resist attempts to break it up. "What is happening now is inconceivable to us," said MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi. "But they will not be able to dismantle the party, if that is the plan."
Last year, Malir SSP Rao Anwar announced the arrest of two terror suspects, who he claimed were members of the Indian spy agency RAW. Speaking to the media, he claimed that the suspects — Tahir alias Lamba and Mama Junaid — belonged to the MQM and had been sent to India for training. “MQM is a terrorist organisation and it should be banned,” he argued. Saulat Mirza, a former MQM worker who was hanged, in his statement to a joint investigation team, said the party had links with India’s RAW. In 2014, the New York Times cited an American diplomatic cable from 2008 titled “Gangs of Karachi,” which was published by WikiLeaks and estimated that the MQM had an active militia of 10,000 gunmen, with an additional 25,000 in reserve — a larger force, the dispatch noted, than the city police.
Last year, the MQM also resigned from assemblies en bloc in a bid to press the government for the acceptance of its demands. It was a desperate and meaningless effort from the party to stop the Karachi operation without realising that it was the establishment that had launched the action against criminals and the government could not help it in any way. It appears the party will have to learn to work without its militant wing, which would also increase its popularity. It should accept the reality and stop making excuses for the presence of criminals in its ranks.
Mustafa Kamal is expected to make more disclosures about the MQM and its head. It is believed he has a lot more to tell to people. His initial press conference was just a trailer. More people are expected to join him.
At the time of going to press, another member of the MQM, Dr. Saghir, with his own list of accusations against Altaf Hussain, defected to Mustafa Kamal.
PPP leaders have started criticizing Kamal for fears that defections could also take place in their party. They believe it is a conspiracy to malign politicians. The ruling party is also tightlipped on his allegations for the same reasons.
A new faction of the party will be a major split after the formation of MQM-H in 1992. It poses a new challenge to the party which is already facing many threats, inside and outside the country. Though its vote bank is largely intact, the party has been considerably weakened after a Rangers operation in Karachi. There are also reports that its leader Altaf Hussain is seriously ill and under treatment in a hospital in Germany for a severely damaged liver and affected kidneys. It must have been a factor in Mustafa Kamal’s return to Pakistan. It is believed that former President Pervez Musharraf also fancied his chances to head the party when he had returned to the country ahead of the 2013 general elections, after fears that the MQM chief could be jailed in London for money laundering or the murder of former party leader Dr. Imran Farooq.
MQM MNA Ali Raza Abidi twiteed that Kamal's return is “the last and final card by Chaudhry Nisar,” apparently hinting at a conspiracy behind the former mayor's return. The party alleged it was a conspiracy to malign the MQM after the Federal Investigation Agency had registered a case against Altaf Hussain and other party leaders in the murder case of former MQM leader Dr. Imran Farooq.
Mustafa Kamal’s allegations of the MQM’s RAW links and killings in Karachi are not new, but they are difficult to prove. The allegations have not affected its popularity in Karachi and Hyderabad in the past and it bagged a large number of seats in local elections only a few months ago. However, it appears that the party may not be able to maintain its position in national politics for long. It has continuously suffered losses after reaching its height in the Musharraf government. Its chief is largely to blame for it, for his irresponsible statements against the establishment and style of politics. Last year, he bitterly criticized the army and asked workers to receive weapons training. In his address to party workers, he criticised army officers who had surrendered in Bangladesh during the 1971 war. He also instructed his workers to seek commando training and learn to use weapons to “prepare for battles ahead”. “I request RAW to openly support us, just for once, and give us arms. And then we will tell them, who are agents of RAW; us or those who surrendered,” he said in a veiled reference to the 1971 war, which led to the creation of Bangladesh.
Earlier, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that the party had received funding from India. According to “leaked” media reports, Tariq Mir, a senior MQM leader, told UK authorities about the nexus between his party and the Indian government. He told the London Metropolitan Police that Indians used to pay 800,000 pound sterling to the party on a yearly basis for running operations. According to transcripts of an interview conducted by the UK police on May 30, 2012, the MQM leader had made the statements “voluntarily” and was “not under arrest”.
The MQM started criticizing the military after a crackdown in Karachi started late in 2013, when the murder rate soared and mutilated bodies were found dumped on roads daily. The MQM is accused of racketeering, kidnappings for ransom and targeted killings in Karachi. Police recorded 2,507 murders in the city in 2013, up from 278 in 2006. Initially, the military operation in Karachi was not very successful and targeted killings and extortions continued. However, the situation has improved after the Rangers swooped on MQM’s headquarters and seized arms and arrested criminals last year. It was seen as a direct challenge to the authority of Altaf Hussain. The MQM denies the charges against it, but says that, while it has cooperated with Rangers in the past, the party will resist attempts to break it up. "What is happening now is inconceivable to us," said MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi. "But they will not be able to dismantle the party, if that is the plan."
Last year, Malir SSP Rao Anwar announced the arrest of two terror suspects, who he claimed were members of the Indian spy agency RAW. Speaking to the media, he claimed that the suspects — Tahir alias Lamba and Mama Junaid — belonged to the MQM and had been sent to India for training. “MQM is a terrorist organisation and it should be banned,” he argued. Saulat Mirza, a former MQM worker who was hanged, in his statement to a joint investigation team, said the party had links with India’s RAW. In 2014, the New York Times cited an American diplomatic cable from 2008 titled “Gangs of Karachi,” which was published by WikiLeaks and estimated that the MQM had an active militia of 10,000 gunmen, with an additional 25,000 in reserve — a larger force, the dispatch noted, than the city police.
Last year, the MQM also resigned from assemblies en bloc in a bid to press the government for the acceptance of its demands. It was a desperate and meaningless effort from the party to stop the Karachi operation without realising that it was the establishment that had launched the action against criminals and the government could not help it in any way. It appears the party will have to learn to work without its militant wing, which would also increase its popularity. It should accept the reality and stop making excuses for the presence of criminals in its ranks.
Mustafa Kamal is expected to make more disclosures about the MQM and its head. It is believed he has a lot more to tell to people. His initial press conference was just a trailer. More people are expected to join him.
At the time of going to press, another member of the MQM, Dr. Saghir, with his own list of accusations against Altaf Hussain, defected to Mustafa Kamal.
PPP leaders have started criticizing Kamal for fears that defections could also take place in their party. They believe it is a conspiracy to malign politicians. The ruling party is also tightlipped on his allegations for the same reasons.
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