The MQM’s Dilemma

Urban Sindh’s party have a say in appointment of Karachi’s new administrator but its future looks bleak

KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P) is adept at the art of staying in power.

The urban Sindh’s party was part of the ruling coalition in the Centre during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) three and a half year rule but jumped ship ahead of voting on a no-trust motion against the PTI government to once again become part of the new ruling coalition and get two ministries.

The Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) rules over Sindh and the MQM-P despite being a coalition partner of the PPP at the federal level is not part of the Sindh government.

However, the party has recently got its nominee – Kamran Tessori – appointed as the Sindh governor. The PPP has also appointed Karachi’s new administrator, Dr Saifur Rehman, in consultation with the MQM-P.

The MQM-P has managed to do this in spite of being a junior coalition partner in the federal government with only seven seats in a 342-seat National Assembly. However, all is not well in the party which has practically ruled over the urban Sindh for many decades with an iron fist.

The MQM-P now faces numerous internal and external challenges including a declining popularity which may result in its getting wiped out in the upcoming local government (LG) polls scheduled for Jan 15.

Inside sources in the MQM-P said the party fears it may face humiliation in the LG polls as it has apparently lost its popularity as evidenced by the results of the recent by-elections at two Karachi constituencies – NA-245 and NA-239.

“If the party gets wiped out in the LG polls in Karachi and Hyderabad, it will also get wiped out from the National Assembly in the coming national election,” said a party leader while requesting anonymity.

However, the PPP has now appointed the new Karachi administrator in consultation with the MQM-P.

Now the MQM-P is preparing for the next LG elections which the party convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui believes are vital to ensuring the rights of the people of urban Sindh.

In a statement, he said the party wants impartial LG polls as soon as possible. He asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to stop pre-poll rigging. He also asked the MQM-P workers and supporters to start preparation for the polls.

According to some reports, an MQM delegation met with Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori and apprised him of the party’s grievances with regard to non-implementation of its agreement with the PPP about delimitation and amendments in the LG laws.

Inside sources in the PPP said the MQM-P had expressed its reservations over delimitation and asked the ruling party to revise the process.

The PPP leadership told the MQM-P that the delimitation could be revised only by the ECP and the PPP government could not do anything in this regard, they said.

When contacted, PPP Senator Syed Waqar Mehdi claimed that the PPP had no differences with the MQM-P. “We have no differences over any issue. We have been holding a series of meetings to solve all issues with mutual understanding.”

Appointment of an administrator

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) – which has emerged as a favorite in some opinion polls –criticized the appointment of an administrator with political background.

“The administrator belonging to one party is being replaced with the administrator belonging to another party. We demand that a political administrator be removed.

“We will not allow any conspiracy against the holding of the LG elections. Appointment of an administrator is illegal after announcement of the election schedule. The ECP should take notice of it,” said Hafiz Naeem, the JI Karachi chief.

The PTI, the biggest opposition party in Sindh, also criticized the decision.

PTI parliamentary leader in the Sindh Assembly Khurram Sher Zaman said appointment of a new administrator is not in the interest of the people of Karachi. “They are doing it to mint more money. The MQM-P and the PPP both were the anti-people parties.”

MQM-P’s internal divide

Some leaders in the MQM believe the splitting of the party into several factions has inflicted a serious blow to it. Some recent events have also exposed internal rifts in what is left of the former MQM.

London properties’ dispute

The MQM-P is facing a backlash over filing a case in a London court to seek ownership of seven properties worth between 10 to 12 million pounds – equivalent to around Rs2,700 to 3,200 million. Federal Minister for IT Aminul Haq filed a petition to claim the properties on behalf of the MQM-P.

The properties – one of which having already been sold – are in the possession of MQM founder Altaf Hussain and what is now described as the MQM-London. These include Altaf’s residence and the MQM-London’s secretariat.

The MQM-P – established in August 2016 after the Pakistani leadership of the party announced a mutual decision to part ways with the MQM founder in the wake of an objectionable speech – claimed that it wanted to acquire the properties in order to support families of the MQM martyrs.

Interestingly, one year after filing the case, the petitioner told the court that the copy of the MQM constitution submitted along with the petition was fake and that now he was going to submit the copy of the MQM-Pakistan original constitution in which the party had disassociated itself from Altaf.

Dr Farooq Sattar, Wasim Akhtar, and Syed Aminul Haq gave their testimonies before the London court through video link from Pakistan while Nadeem Nusrat, a former confidant of the MQM founder, reached London from the United States to give his testimony.

Netizens later started trolling Dr Farooq Sattar on social media, forcing him to hold a press conference

“I gave my testimony to straighten the record. I was against filing the case from day one. I was not part of the MQM-P when the case was filed. The MQM-P should not have filed the petition.”

Dr Sattar also issued a list of 43 properties of the Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation, a subsidiary welfare organization of the MQM. He said if the party needed funds urgently, these properties could also be sold out as they are worth more than the London properties.

Nadeem Nusrat also said the MQM-P should not have filed the petition and the matter should have been settled out of court. He said he recorded his statement in a bid to clear his own position.

During cross examination, Haq said he realized after one year that the document submitted earlier was fake. He also told the court that he had filed the petition on the instructions of Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.

The testimonies of the MQM-P leaders remained under discussion on different social media platforms with people condemning the MQM-P. Even at the general workers meeting at the party’s Bahadurabad office, the security was unprecedented.

Referring to the statements of Dr Sattar and Nusrat, former mayor and MQM-P senior leader Wasim Akhtar said the conspirators did not want the MQM-P to strengthen.

“We do whatever we think is right and we take decisions in consultation with all members of the Coordination Committee. So we don’t care about such statements. We want to resolve our matters without indulging in any dispute.”

“As far as the case is concerned, we don’t generate funds of millions of rupees as happened in the past. It is our commitment that we will reclaim the party’s past glory,” he said.