Altaf Bhai — man behind the myth

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

Only a few people know that Quaid-e-Tehreek Altaf Hussain was once a cadet of the 1970-71 National Cadet Scheme (NCS) and completed his one-year training and was selected to fight in East Pakistan. Altaf Bhai, along with all his colleagues, was about to board a ship from Karachi to Chittagong just when India sealed all its borders, robbing our bhai of the chance to demonstrate his physical prowess. Later, the NCS was converted into the 55th Baloch Regiment. Most of Altaf’s colleagues were given regular commissions, but the MQM chief was among the few who were dropped, unfortunately.

Critics say that the army’s touchstone was perfect and they had identified the killer instinct in Altaf. However, cynics hold the army responsible for Altaf being what he is today, saying that had the army chosen the MQM chief, he would have been, at least, a disciplined soldier.

During his military training, one of his true passions was weapons: his focus was on which weapon could do the most damage. He told several of his colleagues at the time that he desired an army of his own, which would fight his enemies for the sake of justice.

If the army had taken him onboard, Altaf Bhai might have been a retired brigadier or a retired major general today. Ironically, if that were the case, Brigadier Altaf Hussain would have made the MQM his prime target. But Altaf was destined for a different future and was chosen as the painter of a much wider canvas.

His opponents painted him as a Gestapo chief, where no member of his party could dare differ with the boss, but in reality, Altaf Bhai’s followers obeyed him out of ‘respect’. People picture him as a tyrant, but I know he is a very kind and caring man, who does not kill his opponents, but rather runs a ‘travel agency’ that issues ‘tickets for the heavens’.

It has been alleged that the MQM was the brainchild of Ziaul Haq. During the dictator’s time, Karachi was considered to be the stronghold of the Jamaat-e-Islami and that to break this hold, the establishment decided to create the creature that is the MQM.

The establishment got what it wished for and the JI was ousted from the provincial capital. But little did it know the aftershocks that would follow its move, the MQM’s spinnerets built such a strong web around Karachi that all the party’s opponents were suffocated.

In contrast, Altaf’s grandfather was a religious scholar hailing from Agra, and his father was a stationmaster who died in 1967. He was known to be a thorough gentleman and would probably never have dreamed that his son would one day become a symbol of fear.

Altaf Bhai has been known to be a neutral person and has never sided even with his close allies. To be fair, we have witnessed his impartiality on several occasions. Unfortunately, whenever the elephant of the establishment puts its foot on the tail of the mouse (democracy), Bhai remains neutral.

Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari are the best examples of this case. When Bhai opposed the National Reconciliation Ordinance, his opponents alleged that he had drilled a hole in the same boat he had been sailing on, but they forgot that he was wearing a “khaki lifejacket”. Nawaz Sharif declared the MQM a terrorist organisation, and on October 28, 1998, accused Altaf Hussain of masterminding Hakim Saeed’s murder. On May 31, 2001, the Sindh High Court acquitted all the accused. Even this acquital could not change Nawaz Sharif’s views about the MQM. But Altaf Bhai holds the nerves of thousands of voters in urban Sindh and one cannot believe that only terror could drive them to vote for the MQM, which is why Nawaz Sharif should review his policy towards the MQM.

Altaf even managed to outdo his astrologist, who predicted that wealth and power would stay away from him. But Bhai found the remedy and he “dragged” wealth and power close to him through his comrades. However, predictions about his marriage might be true after all, as it was foretold that his married life would not be a successful story. Being an urban Sindhi, he married a rural Sindhi woman as a goodwill gesture; unfortunately that bond ended in separation.

He moved to the UK in 1991 and did not return home, choosing instead to become a British citizen. His astrologist predicted his survival in some castle, whether it be Abbasi Shaheed Hospital or the castle in London. Unfortunately, the said astrologist is not with us anymore (he died of natural causes), otherwise I might have had my luck tested by him.

There is a long list of MQM activists who left the party, and were later ‘eliminated’. Even the police officers who carried out operations against the MQM met their maker, one after the other. Investigators failed to find the MQM’s fingerprints on these murders, but the families of the victims alleged that investigators had ignored “their gloves”. The MQM might feel it’s a coincidence that all of its opponents died one after the other, but the fact remains that those who hold the MQM responsible for the killings have no evidence to back their claims. Even the May 12, 2007 massacre failed to bring any witnesses against the MQM to the forefront.

It is fair to ask how Altaf Bhai survives in London when he has no job. Now his party admits that they send “funds” to Altaf Bhai to allow him to meet his day-to-day expenses, while his opponents claim that over a million pounds are transferred to Bhai’s Swiss accounts every month. In the UK, the MQM chief does nothing but run a secretariat. He does not pay any notable tax to the British government, as he lives on charity.

Bhai started his political career in 1978 by forming the All-Pakistan Mohajir Student Organisation (APMSO). He received his political training in the violence-soaked atmosphere of the Karachi University, where the Islami Jamiat Taliba and the Sindh People’s Student Federation struggled for power. Altaf wanted an ethnic platform to express his grievance that major national parties were ignoring the mohajirs. In 1979, he was sentenced to nine months in prison and nine lashes by a military court, but the Sindh High Court suspended the lashes.

He then moved to the US and worked as a taxi driver and was reportedly issued seven traffic tickets in a single day, which is a record with the NYPD. He failed to land a decent job despite being a qualified pharmacist in Pakistan. This added to his belief that the mohajirs would not get a fair deal until they expressed their strength.

On March 18, 1984 he announced the Mohajir Qaumi Movement and focused on ethnic politics that attracted his base. Later, he realised he had amassed enough power to make a shift out of ethnic politics and converted his party to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

He managed to sweep elections in all educational institutions in Sindh’s major cities like Hyderabad, Karachi and Sukkur. In 1987, his party swept the local bodies elections in Karachi and Hyderabad.

Bhai announced he would quit politics on November 15, 1992 with Azeem Tariq set to replace him. But even the best-laid plans can go awry. On June 2, 1993 Azeem Tariq was assassinated in his Azizabad residence – a known MQM stronghold. Unfortunately, conspirators alleged that Bhai had been behind the murder. Despite being blamed for any and every drop of blood shed in Karachi – whether it be the May 12, 2007 or the killing of political opponents – no court of law has ever held the MQM responsible for any such acts. In the day and age of an “independent” judiciary, we will give the MQM the benefit of the doubt.

Amir Khan and Afaq Khan shocked Altaf Bhai when they joined the establishment in making a faction of his party, the MQM-Haqiqi. This group posed a fresh threat to this person, after which he moved to London. Three MPAs also resigned from the assembly during Jam Sadiq’s regime. Unfortunately, they are no more.

During the MQM’s tenure in Karachi, bodies with holes drilled in them were sent to Punjab and they had Punjabis, Pathans and Sindhis in their crosshairs. The Sindhis were eliminated and their oldest Goths ruined in the name of development. The Baloch were deprived and confined to a certain area. No major development in education, health and civil life were seen in Lyari and other strongholds of other communities. Even during the golden period of Mustafa Kamal, all his kamals (good deeds) were confined to his own community.

The PPP, PML-N and PML-Q need to ally with them to make a government. The first two declared the MQM a terrorist organisation, but embraced them again when they needed to. The MQM has announced to quit the government in every coalition for almost a hundred times now, but it has never happened, as they cannot not survive without power. It does not matter whether it is a political government or dictatorship, the MQM is a part of it.

After the first military operation in Karachi in 1992, several torture cells were traced, including the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, but an establishment chump, Brig ® Imtiaz, jumped in to give the MQM a clean chit from all sins, including the Jinnahpur incident.

Upon this, an analyst commented that even Hitler did not justify the Gestapo’s killings, so how did an establishment baby exonerate the MQM.

Imran Khan is the real critic of Altaf Bhai, but believes the MQM
is the real party of the masses, if aggressive elements are omitted. Don’t worry Imran, Altaf Bhai’s successors are the last hope!