MUSTAFA Kamal, along with Anis Qaimkhani, made a sudden appearance in Karachi after a self-imposed exile which raises interesting questions. It is premature to speculate what change they will bring to the dynamics of politics in urban Sindh.

The former Karachi mayor’s long press conference on the first day of his appearance evoked a mixed response. He outlined a three-point agenda but avoided naming the new party which he intends to launch.

Of the three points mentioned as his agenda, the second point about developing new cities appears quite strange.

It seems that he was speaking from the mind of Malik Riaz, as the Bahria Town chairman was his benefactor and employer in Dubai. Mr Kamal neither addressed the issues of Urdu-speaking community nor did he touch upon the critical national issues.

Mr Kamal’s conscience has pricked after remaining associated with the party for more than two decades. He is equally responsible for the sins of omissions and commissions that are being attributed to the party. Mr Kamal is credited with carrying out huge development in Karachi during his tenure. However, the actual credit should go to ex-president Pervez Musharraf, who provided the funds to the MQM as a political player and representative of the urban population and not to Mustafa Kamal.

If these resources had not been made available to the MQM, Mr Kamal could not have done any development work.

K.A

Karachi

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2016