Dr Nida Kirmani is an associate professor of Sociology at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. She has written on Karach’s Lyari for several years and is thus also familiar with the MQM’s effect on the city at large. The Friday Times asked her what she thought of developments on the Karachi front.
TFT: Can you give some thoughts on the relationship between the MQM and the Establishment? How has this affected Karachi in your view?
Nida Kirmani: The way the Operation has been carried out in Karachi, including the arrests and detentions without charge and extrajudicial killings of MQM workers along with alleged members of other groups has weakened the political culture of the city significantly and has done nothing to increase the confidence in the law-enforcement agencies among marginalized citizens (or those who perceive themselves as such).
This was obviously one of the intentions of the Operation, but such an approach is not a long-term solution to Karachi’s problem of violence. The sense of injustice that many in the city have been feeling since the beginning of the Operation will emerge in one form or another, and will likely only fuel further violence in the future. [Monday’s] attacks on the [TV channel] offices were one manifestation of this growing frustration.
TFT: How do you see Altaf Hussain’s Monday speech, subsequent violence, detentions and reactions affecting the MQM and hence its position as a ‘national’ party?
NK: I have never thought of the MQM as a national party despite the fact that it has tried to present itself as such for the past several years. I think [Monday’s] events were actually a sign that the party, and Altaf Hussain in particular, still have a significant support base in Karachi, as we also saw in the local body elections this past December. The MQM may be weakened, but it will not disappear so easily or so quietly. Perhaps, however, we are witnessing a shift in the power structure of the party and a weakening of Altaf Bhai’s position as unquestioned party head. This remains to be seen. The PSP, like the MQM-Haqiqi before it, seems to be no match for the wide and long-cultivated support base of the MQM in the city, which has taken decades to build.
TFT: In recent years it has been hard to tell which party has the upper hand in Karachi. Can you describe the current political landscape?
NK: It may feel like there is no politics on the ground in Karachi, but one can never take the politics out of that city. Politics in Karachi ebbs and flows. We are experiencing a period of ebb right now in Karachi and in the country as a whole. However, the events of [Monday] are clear evidence that the city’s political spirit cannot be quashed, and any attempt to do so through repressive strategies will only lead to a backlash?one that could be more violent than what preceded it. The only solution to Karachi’s problem of violence is a strengthening rather than a weakening of democracy in the city. Those preaching violence are provided a ready support base when citizens are given no other alternatives to voice their frustrations and demands.
TFT: Can you give some thoughts on the relationship between the MQM and the Establishment? How has this affected Karachi in your view?
Nida Kirmani: The way the Operation has been carried out in Karachi, including the arrests and detentions without charge and extrajudicial killings of MQM workers along with alleged members of other groups has weakened the political culture of the city significantly and has done nothing to increase the confidence in the law-enforcement agencies among marginalized citizens (or those who perceive themselves as such).
This was obviously one of the intentions of the Operation, but such an approach is not a long-term solution to Karachi’s problem of violence. The sense of injustice that many in the city have been feeling since the beginning of the Operation will emerge in one form or another, and will likely only fuel further violence in the future. [Monday’s] attacks on the [TV channel] offices were one manifestation of this growing frustration.
TFT: How do you see Altaf Hussain’s Monday speech, subsequent violence, detentions and reactions affecting the MQM and hence its position as a ‘national’ party?
NK: I have never thought of the MQM as a national party despite the fact that it has tried to present itself as such for the past several years. I think [Monday’s] events were actually a sign that the party, and Altaf Hussain in particular, still have a significant support base in Karachi, as we also saw in the local body elections this past December. The MQM may be weakened, but it will not disappear so easily or so quietly. Perhaps, however, we are witnessing a shift in the power structure of the party and a weakening of Altaf Bhai’s position as unquestioned party head. This remains to be seen. The PSP, like the MQM-Haqiqi before it, seems to be no match for the wide and long-cultivated support base of the MQM in the city, which has taken decades to build.
TFT: In recent years it has been hard to tell which party has the upper hand in Karachi. Can you describe the current political landscape?
NK: It may feel like there is no politics on the ground in Karachi, but one can never take the politics out of that city. Politics in Karachi ebbs and flows. We are experiencing a period of ebb right now in Karachi and in the country as a whole. However, the events of [Monday] are clear evidence that the city’s political spirit cannot be quashed, and any attempt to do so through repressive strategies will only lead to a backlash?one that could be more violent than what preceded it. The only solution to Karachi’s problem of violence is a strengthening rather than a weakening of democracy in the city. Those preaching violence are provided a ready support base when citizens are given no other alternatives to voice their frustrations and demands.
– TFT