When MQM chief Altaf Hussain made his sudden call to the army to step in and take action against corrupt politicians and rapacious feudal lords he had, perhaps, not reckoned that his statement would draw such a sharp reaction from the country's major political parties. Although he has subsequently tried to dilute his original statement and said that he had not called for the imposition of martial law, his original outburst has kicked off a controversy that refuses to go away any time soon.
The MQM supremo's call to the military to take over and cleanse the Augean stables of national politics was not only sudden, but completely out of place, in the midst of the grim struggle the country is currently waging against the worst flood disaster in its history. It is a time to unite, to close ranks to help and succour our brethren in distress - 20 million of them uprooted from their homes and hearths and marooned without food, water, medicines and shelter. The heart-rending images of hungry, emaciated children waiting for food and old men and women hopelessly sitting among the rubble of their homes flattened by raging flood waters, have helped to elicit instant response from all sections of Pakistani society. The army personnel, civil society volunteers, NGO workers, students, doctors, common citizens, all have put their shoulder to the wheel. The MQM itself is busy in relief work and has established hundreds of camps in the flood-affected areas.
In the midst of an all-encompassing national crisis, Altaf Hussain's call to arms has been nothing short of a bombshell which has set off a new political controversy, raising the spectre of a new round of divisive and partisan politicking in the country. The strongest criticism has come from the PML-N, whose leaders have lashed out against the MQM, saying that its politics in the last 25 years has revolved round intelligence agencies. The MQM has also been accused of partnering with all military governments and violating democratic norms for narrow partisan interests. The ANP and other left-of-centre parties have also upbraided the MQM for its anti-democratic demand. On the other hand, the rightist parties supported this line of thinking, pointing out that in the present circumstances the military is the only force that can set things right in the country.
Without contextualizing the whole situation, it will not be easy to understand the deeper layers of meaning underlying the MQM chief's statement. Altaf Hussain is a shrewd politician who meticulously plans his every step to retain his advantage in the highly volatile game of politics in Pakistan. With his pro- military and anti-feudal statement he has tries to kill several birds with one stone.
One, as we all know, for quite some time speculation has been rife in the country that the present corrupt and inefficient political dispensation should be replaced by a government of honest politicians and technocrats which should rule for a limited period leading to the holding of new elections. The demand for such a change of course has specially gathered momentum in the wake of the monumental mismanagement of the flood emergency by the government. Altaf Hussain's statement is a subtle signal that he will support the new set-up. Two, although the MQM is part of the present coalition government, Altaf Hussain has cleverly tried to distance himself from the PPP whose ministers and legislators have been widely accused of manipulating bund breaches to save their own land at the cost of the poor farmers.
Three, the images of flood stricken poor, famished farmers of rural Pakistan with their gaunt faces, sunken eyes and hollow cheeks and their frail mud-and-straw homes lying in a heap amidst raging waters, flashed on TV screens all around the globe, have provided a God-given opportunity to Altaf Hussain to trumpet his party's traditional stand against the rapacious feudal elite of Pakistan and, thus, try to win new adherents.
Four, by referring to 'patriotic' generals Altaf Hussain has made it clear that he is on the side of the army but against the generals who impose martial law and seek personal power. This he emphasised in a subsequent statement saying he is firmly against martial law.
Five, Altaf Hussain's statement should also be seen as linked to the shifting balance of political power in Karachi. The MQM, which treats the city as its exclusive turf, strongly resents any encroachment on its powers. For some time the MQM has faced increasing pressures from the PPP government in Sindh, an assertive ANP with a growing constituency in the city and, lately, from the migration of flood affected Sindhi farmers from the interior.
The MQM chief's statement is a warning to all adversaries that the party has other cards up its sleeve to safeguard its interests. The MQM is a party of the middle classes of Pakistan and claims to be secular, democratic and liberal. That is the reason why its pro-military statement has drawn such strong fire from all sides. The ongoing controversy will not only lead to a realignment of political forces in the country but also shape the contours of the emerging political scenario in the coming days.