Re: Altaf Hussain - Thoughts?
I just made this thread to ascertain how many of you think hes 'a good guy' and your 'reasons' behind it. Maybe your opinions will help me (and some other posters) understand more why you guys think hes actually a 'good' leader.
I personally think MQM destroyed Karachi, and the city had immense potential had it not been for the MQM. Just recently, I was talking to a friend from KArachi whose family owns 2 car part shops in Karachi and they told me that they ocasionally get MQM people in their street and force them to close down their shops through force. They even hold AK47s and say 'punjabi ***rwoon dukaan band nahee karo gey tu khopri ura den gey'. According to him, its not as bad as it used to, but they are still carrying out this ghunda-gardi in the city and need to be stopped. I also think they are doing this because their 'quaid' altaf is asking them to do so.
Spock,
You are commenting on what's supposedly the reality in Karachi today or was during the 90s. However you, and posters like you, don't want to discuss the history of Karachi, it's politics and it's people from the inception of Pakistan.
Before the formation of MQM, an student organization formed by 2 students Altaf Hussain and Azim Tariq, mohajirs in the city of Karachi were, for lack of a better term, getting their asses kicked! Whehter it was quota system enacted by Bhutto or even the early years of Pakistan/Karachi when makraani's would assault them left and right or Sindhis would call them panaah geera. You don't want to discuss that, do you?
MQM was not created in a vaccum; it's a culmination of nearly 60 years of history of Karachi and its politics; certainly the sense of injustice, and there were many injustices meted out thru the history of Pakistan on Mohajirs, played a major role in Mohajir vote bank supporting MQM.
Mohajirs hated (some still do) the term 'mohajir' because they truly were the first Pakistanis. Unfortunately, they were not accepted as such and ethinocentrism of the 'natives' was always used against them.
Now, the common argument is that the Pres and CO are 'mohajirs' hence all should be good in the world of 'mohajirs'. Well, reality is that all is not good for 'mohajirs' just like it's not good for Sindhis, Punjabis, Pathans and Balochis. But the past events of Karachi's politics can't undo the genie which is the MQM.
The question you should be asking is how do we clean up the Pakistani politics? Waderas? Choudhries? Etc. Rising ties lifts all boats and cleaning up Pakitani politics will go a long way to make Pakistan better than just exclusively targeting MQM or Altaf (which will only deepen the rift between the communites).