What is going on
inside Altaf Bhai's MQM
Are the 'No Go
Areas' a Recipe for Disaster in Sindh
By
Abdus Sattar Agha
LONDON:
MQM Leader Altaf Hussain’s announcement to wage a war against
the
establishment has surprised many political observers but the real
secret deal under way between the MQM and the Musharraf Government
is to accommodate Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider in the Senate
on an MQM ticket.
Mr
Haider recently praised Altaf Hussain as a “very responsible
leader” and the sudden attention being paid to the “No
Go Areas” (NGAs) in Karachi has given rise to serious speculation
that MQM was asking for its pound of flesh before it could consider
any concession to the Musharraf regime.
Analysts
understand why General Musharraf did not say any thing about the
NGAs earlier during the three years of his rule. He was in the
army when his fellow generals decided to form the rival group
of the MQM and fully supported them. Late COAS General Asif Nawaz
had even publicly stated that if there could be 11 Muslim Leagues,
why could not there be two MQMs.
On
19 June 1992 the army brought the Haqiqi group to the urban areas
of Karachi. Many
MPAs and MNAs of the Altaf group were forced to change their loyalty
and all this happened at a time when the army was present in the
city and a crackdown against Altaf group was going on. It means
that Musharraf must have been aware of the fact that there were
certain NGAs but he did nothing about them.
Even
during the recent elections these areas were not abolished and
Mutahida was denied entry into these areas. So, what has prompted
Gen. Musharraf to give a statement in favor of
MQM now. Some believe a secret deal has been struck.
Analysts
also believe that the MQM may again be used against the PPP if
it comes into power.
As the influence of the party has been reduced in many parts of
Karachi, it is essential that Altaf Hussain’s group is provided
a launching base for any powerful agitation against the government.
According
to another view point, MQM might be inducted into the new Sindh
administration and for that it would have demanded entry into
these NGAs.
Others
say the former members of the MQM Coordination Committee did not
effectively raise the issue of NGAs which made Mr Altaf Hussain
very angry. They mainly focused on ministries and privileges which
annoyed Mr Hussain who dissolved the Committee.
Yet
another view is that Mr Hussain was exasperated over the defeat
of the MQM in some areas and thought that he was not given accurate
reports regarding the party position of those areas. MQM also
no longer raises any popular slogan. It has already used the slogan
of a separate province and provincial autonomy which became quite
unpopular.
Thus
the NGAs are being used as a new slogan, according to this school
of thought. Activists of the party were dejected when the party
lost seats of national and provincial assemblies from Landhi and
it is said that many workers of the party were now sure that Haqiqi
could never be expelled from these NGAs so this issue had to be
raised to enhance their morale and keep them involved.
It
is thought the workers of the NGAs are more active in the party
than those of other areas and that is why it was important to
demand MQM’s entry.
Another
analysis suggests that the threat to the establishment regarding
the abolition of NGAs has been given to divert the attention of
the party workers from the internal contradictions and
differences of the party because on this issue the workers are
more emotional than on any other issue. It is interesting to note
that in past MQM has been a part of the government but it did
not raise the issue of NGAs as vehemently as it is doing now.
If
after Ramadan the NGAs were not abolished then it would be clear
that the slogan of its
abolishment was raised to divert the attention of the people from
the internal contradictions of the party. Mr
Hussain has said that his party would abolish the NGAs itself
if the establishment did not do so. This indicates that there
could be bloodshed in the city and taking this as an excuse the
establishment might resort to impose Governor’s Rule in
the province where PPP would be in power.
It
may be mentioned that the first government of Benazir was destabilized
by MQM following the operation of the Pakka Qila in Hyderabad.
When the second Benazir government dissolved, she was blamed for
extra judicial killings, though Nasirullah Babar, the incharge
of the crackdown on MQM, had admitted that MI and other agencies
helped him conduct the operation. So it is clear that with whose
consent the extra judicial killings were carried out. But these
killings were cited as one of the reasons for the dissolution
of her government.
If
the MQM really tries to get the NGAs vacated, it may be a difficult
task because most of
the die-hard MQM activists had either been killed in fake police
encounters or jailed. In the last five years the party has also
expelled many militants like Kala Shafiq of New Karachi and many
others besides suspending workers like Javed Shahpuri of the Liaquatabad.
This,
however does not mean that the MQM has no die hard activists.
There are still many who are ready to obey Altaf Bhai. If the
party tries to enter those areas, there will be great bloodshed
which might pave the way for the army government to impose extra
constitutional rule on the province or even the country on the
one hand and start a crackdown against the party on the other.
Altaf
Hussain‘s warning to those who were trying to create the
forward block in the MQM indicates that there are severe differences
within the party and the decision to dissolve the coordination
committee has been delayed to see that how many people go with
Dr. Imran
Farooq. This is also an attempt to stop them from doing so.
The
dilemma is how to abolish the NGAs as they are protected by the
agencies themselves. In the past all attempts to do so have failed.
During Liaquat Jatoi’s government the activists of the MQM
tried to enter these areas but they were resisted by the rival
group while Police and Rangers remained either neutral or supported
the rival Haqiqi group.
The
agencies do not want to abolish the NGAs because they are afraid
that if the city is given back to MQM, they will go beyond the
control of the agencies. These agencies may also try to
play games with the MQM. They may ask Mutahida to let Haqiqi work
in other parts of Karachi which would be impossible for MQM to
accept. It is believed that during the recent elections this offer
was made by the Haqiqi and the government which was turned down
by Mutahida
Altaf
Hussain has also asked the members of the Coordination Committee
to sit at the Khurshid Memorial Hall (named after Mr Hussain’s
mother) during his speech. It is thought that this announcement
was made so that the loyal workers of Mr Hussain could keep an
eye on the
activities of his members.
The
hall has big rooms and is dominated by the APMSO and Labour division
of the party who are very loyal to party chief. Altaf’s
control on the party is still very firm and sources said that
party activists were of the opinion that no body could take the
place of the party chief.
Earlier
Dr Imran Farooq was in direct contact with the sector in charges
but now they are all in direct contact with the party chief or
his loyalists.
