OPED: Why a Lunch Date with a Congressman has Citizens Spooked?

Published in Global Affairs? / Oct 2017

When someone like Altaf Hussain – the one of body bags, bhatta fame meets someone like US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher known for being rabidly anti Pakistan, it sets the room a buzzing. The founding father of MQM who lives in exile in London and under whose reign Karachi was reduced to a hulk, now wanders the halls with a human rights violation pitch that always tests well with Western audiences as he leads an anti Pakistan lobby in his spare time. It could be nothing. Or it could mean everything.

The Coming Storm or a Storm in a Tea Cup?

Dana Rohrabacher who went on to meet WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange – the fugitive, had once drafted a bill with Senator Ted Poe to declare Pakistan a state sponsor of terror making him the perfect candidate for such a rendezvous.
Altaf Hussain was also seen hobnobbing with the exiled Khan of Kalat, a Baloch dissident strongly opposed to CPEC and soft towards Modi. Altaf’s closest aide has expressed similar sentiments regarding Indians taking up the Mohajir’s cause and met both Ted Poe and McCain while questioning policies of granting aid to untrustworthy allies.

No Such Thing as a Free Exile

Since the West is not naïve - they would know what an exiled man represents, given money laundering investigations launched by Scotland Yard and stories of murder and mayhem circulating around him and his associates. If they decide to humor him anyway, it will be because common interests generally trump personal dislikes and ethical dilemmas.

The question remains, what can rogue MQM chapters offer American Congressman or Indian leadership for that matter in terms of leverage against Pakistan? The two men make unlikely allies on the surface – a relationship where one can provide valuable intel for instance, and the other gives their cause legitimacy however could justify such a liaison. With his special insights into Karachi’s fraught political landscape, Hussain may be a valued commodity that could explain his untouchable status and confidence in his abilities to find willing listeners for his long winded spiels.

It should be noted that said meetings are not secret. These men does not fear discovery. They never have. The London pulpit was once used for public declarations of war and issuance of death sentences. It remains unclear if the orator operated under the influence of foreign masters or simply under the influence.

From Kingpins to Pawns and Back Again

The party’s relatively liberal outlook and benign front has been used to great advantage when harnessing a vote base. Still, what is an exiled leader but a pawn for foreign interests and a weapon for their myriad agendas? What does a US Congressman and an exiled leader of a Karachi based party have in common other than an abiding dislike of Pakistan, and designs to undercut its position? Together they make a perfect couple – one with a roster of grudges and nothing to lose; the other with a vendetta and maybe something to prove.

How credible is the threat posed by a defanged MQM?

Bored kingpins, even in their defanged state must never be underestimated. Hussain may just be a figurehead now, disowned and disgraced who once terrorized a city and held citizens hostage, and lived off the riches in the comforts of his London home. Yet, how credible is the threat posed by exiled leaders sans an army of loyal lieutenants and militias at their beck and call? Even with the weight of hostile nations or disgruntled Congressmen thrown behind him, many wonder at his capacity to become a formidable challenger. It would require funding, manpower, weaponry, clout and a free pass.

Nevertheless, a former boss shoring up his defenses prompts fears that Karachi may again be in danger of falling into ruin and being fractured along ethnic and racial lines. This may look unlikely from this vantage point since Karachi circa 2017 is no longer available for turf wars and personal vendettas thanks to CPEC, Rangers, Raddul-Fassad, & Khyber 4 etc. Also, a sitting PM was brought down on charges of corruption and hopefully the fate of other thugs now hangs in the balance. Things have been looking up.

Yet, despite the hard won peace that has somehow held to date, and paramilitary operations – spurts of violence and a return of muggings, robberies, grand theft auto and murders show that it needs constant vigilance to make it work. There was admittedly more than one political party associated with plunder, sectarian violence courtesy of armed militias back in the day - unwittingly providing terrorists cover to operate with impunity. Only an indiscriminate crackdown allowed security forces to confront the looming threat of terrorism and insurgency and regain a modicum of control over the region.
The recent urban flooding however where the army had to step in to (literally) bail out the people put any claims of progress and development by the local administration under scrutiny. If the armed forces have to intervene every time a little rain falls, it reflects poorly on Pakistan’s entire political setup and in this dangerous vacuum lies an opportunity for the next shyster to come and build an empire with false promises and phony ideals.

The Baloch are Coming

Mohajirs and Baloch reportedly do not get along and given that Baloch majority districts remain no go area for the rest including Ubers and Careems in Karachi – it shows ethnic tensions continue to sizzle below the surface in what was once a powder keg. What would prompt a truce in this scenario?
Resuming ties with exiled Baloch leaders are instinctively linked to plans to ferment trouble on behalf of vested interests and hold CPEC hostage. India’s Modi has already confessed to stirring the pot in Balochistan on a public stage not too long ago. MQM’s bid to establish channels of communication with a rival clan could be telling in this backdrop.

A Power play in the Works

The current bickering among different parties on the results of the Census that showed Karachi’s population growth as less than expected, and has been cast as a ploy to keep the city deprived of its rightful share of resources, is another bone of contention that can perhaps be exploited by faded party heads waiting in the wings. With political turmoil raging in the Capital, a vacancy in the PM slot, and Pakistan’s terms with an old ally less than cordial; politicians can be seen scrambling to nail down the voter base and sort through allegiances.

Still, making a play for Karachi is a bold gambit. There are proven allegations against MQM, given their front man is on record inciting violence, and issuing threats. With their position weakened, offices sealed, militant wing hopefully disbanded, blanket ban on the leader’s incendiary speeches and drunken rants, the ability to paralyze the city on a whim and use it as a personal kitty is hopefully gone.

MQM - old faces, new banner, same grievances

But something has survived. Original members remain in play leading their own parties that have been spun off from the original MQM and now call themselves PSP and MQM-P and ‘injustice with Mohajirs’ remains their rallying cry.

What would make them cede control of their respective parties and trade in the top dog status? The chances of being absorbed back into the founding organization appear slim, but Karachi is not out of the woods yet. An MQM-P leader survived an Eid day assassination attempt on 2nd September 2017 - the innocent bystanders weren’t so lucky. The sight of hit men in police garb, added to the rising hysteria. Citizens who just stopped looking over their shoulder are back to speculating about jihadists running rampant, false flag ops by a party that thrives on the ‘victim card’, an inside job or someone from the London office testing for weaknesses in Karachi’s supposedly foolproof security plans. It underscores the need to address Pakistan’s financial Capital’s deepening fault lines on war footing given what is at stake.

Safe Passage for Outlaws

Whether these acts are attempts to take back the business, torch the land in a final act of vengeance; a strategic play to increase relevance in the international arena as a power broker who peddles in information, or, simply a chance to score a free lunch, it is a great disservice to the people of Pakistan to be seen through an MQM sponsored lens. Perhaps this is why it is important to enforce ECL to prevent the corrupt and powerful to escape to the Holy Land or a planned European getaway where they can bide their time and return as stooges beholden to their host nations who ensured their safe passage and gave them protection.

A City in the crosshairs

Hopefully there are safeguards in place to prevent the metropolis’s descent into madness. And Balochistan’s fortunes have been secured from outside interference to ward off an onslaught of propaganda from an army of dissidents given the promised security uplift, development projects in the pipeline. Attention seeking outlaws lobbying against Pakistan will cease to be a threat once their stranglehold is permanently broken. But as long as there are vulnerabilities to be exploited and grievances to stew over because of something as simple as a lack of civic amenities or as complex as the taking up the cause of disenfranchised people, Karachi will remain in the crosshairs of opportunistic men with time on their hands - a business plan and a Congressman in their corner.