FOR the past few years, the MQM has been in a free fall, riven by internal power struggles and failing to perform in elections. Now the split within the entity known as the MQM-Pakistan — to differentiate it from the London faction still loyal to party founder Altaf Hussain — has grown deeper as the coordination committee has expelled Muttahida stalwart Farooq Sattar. In dramatic developments unfolding on Friday evening, the party’s Bahadurabad faction, headed by federal minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, announced it had revoked Dr Sattar’s basic party membership; Farooq Sattar shot back by terming his expulsion “illegal and unconstitutional”. Trouble had been brewing for the last few weeks, as Dr Sattar had talked of returning the MQM to its ‘ideological’ roots. In fact, the internal crisis in the Muttahida can be traced back to August 2016, when Altaf Hussain made his infamous speech attacking state institutions. From that time onwards, with much of the Pakistan-based leadership disassociating themselves from Altaf, a power struggle — sometimes behind closed doors, sometimes in the open — has been playing out for control of the party. However, the internal bickering has had an impact on the MQM’s vote bank, as the party performed miserably during this year’s general elections.

It will be interesting to see if the MQM can overcome its internal divisions and rise from the ashes. While it has had a well-earned reputation of using strong-arm tactics — both at the ballot box and on the street — much of the Muttahida’s coercive powers have been sapped due to the establishment’s actions taken against the party, especially since 2015. It is also true that due to Altaf Hussain’s iron grip over the party, no real second-tier leadership was allowed to develop. However, the Muttahida has enjoyed popularity with voters in Karachi, Hyderabad and other cities. In the post-Altaf era, urban Sindh’s vote bank is up for grabs; can the MQM-P pick up the pieces, shed its violent past and rebuild, or will a new entity fill the void?

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2018