OVER the last several months, in its responses to the action being taken against it during the Karachi operation by the Rangers and police, the MQM has traversed much of the terrain that lies between baleful defiance and tight-lipped restraint. The statement issued by its coordination committee on Sunday, however, appears for the first time to cross into the realm of abject capitulation. In it, the MQM has appealed to the establishment for clemency similar to that announced for “the estranged Baloch people” and to “heal the wounds of Mohajirs by forgetting past bitterness”. The statement also reiterates the party’s unwavering loyalty to Pakistan.

When a political party in an ostensible democracy appeals to the establishment for clemency, there is clearly something amiss. The MQM’s victim narrative does not behoove the fourth-largest party in the National Assembly, with a formidable vote bank — particularly in Karachi and Hyderabad. In the last two elections, almost a quarter of all votes cast in Sindh went to the MQM. At the same time, the party’s democratic credentials have often been called into question on account of its activists’ strong-arm tactics at the hustings, to enforce strike calls, etc. Since the Karachi operation began, the allegations have expanded to include a slew of criminal activities ranging from extortion to murder. Nevertheless, the results of Karachi’s NA-246 by-election in April, held under close scrutiny while the operation was in full swing, were telling: the MQM won with 74pc share of valid votes, in a poll with a 37pc turnout — far higher than the norm for a by-election. Firstly, this illustrates that the party has an important role to play in the country’s political landscape, and it should go about doing so — shorn of its militant element — especially with local elections around the corner. Secondly, when supporters of a party — especially one based on ethnicity — perceive it is being subjected to unduly partisan treatment, the sympathy vote will come into play. That can also, more worryingly, engender a siege mentality. Here the role of the powers that be is relevant, something the MQM, unwittingly or otherwise, has alluded to in its statement. The establishment’s predilection for meddling in politics — which has contributed in no small measure to the MQM’s periodic rise and ‘fall’, and to the birth of the MQM-Haqiqi as a counterbalance — does not take into account the dangers inherent in marginalising a large chunk of the population.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2015

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