The situation in Karachi once again exploded into spotlight on Thursday after former Karachi Mayor Mustafa Kamal unleashed a scathing attack on Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) supremo Altaf Hussain. The timing of Mustafa Kamal return who left Karachi unannounced initially for the United States in 2013 remains a question mark.
Among the dozens of serious allegations leveled by Mustafa Kamal included the allegations that all senior MQM leaders aware party takes funds from RAW, MQM chief Altaf Hussain addresses workers while intoxicated, Altaf ruined two generations of Urdu-speaking youth and that Altaf Hussain does not care about Mohajir community.
People with grip on Karachi politics find it very hard to believe that Mustafa Kamal or Anees Qaimkhani had no role in the violence faced by the MQM or it took him 20 years to see through the character of his party chief, Altaf Hussain, as Kamal claimed now. Rumours of Kamal’s return have been circulating for long. However, not many had predicted that Kamal will single out the MQM chief for his criticism.
It is also pertinent to mention that Kamal’s allegations are not something new, the MQM has faced the same allegations many times in the past but little has come out of it. Saulat Mirza, who was hanged last year in a video message, had leveled similar allegations against the MQM chief. The latest allegations of Mustafa Kamal were strongly rejected by the MQM. In a press conference MQM leaders labeled Kamal’s allegations as an insult to the intelligence of those who vote for the party. Whether Kamals’ reentry into Karachi politics will have any long term effect on the city’s political map is a question only time will answer.
The allegations leveled by Mustafa Kamal are nothing new.