KARACHI: With the MQM in Pakistan forced to dissociate itself completely from its founder and supreme leader Altaf Hussain, questions are being raised about whether it can survive as a unified party or will tear itself apart from within.

How do the rank and file of the party view the changes, is the denunciation of the Quaid-i-Tehreek really genuine, and who are his possible heirs? What are the stakes for the party beyond the issues of acceptability to the security establishment of Pakistan? Where lie its internal faultlines? Most importantly, can the party even exist out of the long cult-like shadow of Altaf Hussain and will he take it lying down?

Read more about the MQM’s internal crisis in a Special Report from the ground in Images on Sunday.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2016