Altaf Hussain's Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is a sinking vessel, but like other gargantuan beasts, it will take time going down. Mustafa Kamal - the former Mayor of Karachi and MQM senior leader - along with party strongman Anees Qaimkhani jumped ship in 2013 like many others, but have now returned to hasten the party's decent to the bottom. The split between the two and the party is common knowledge; the question is what prompted the return and the explosive attack.
The one thing that was obvious to those present at the surprise presser given by Mustafa Kamal and Anees Qaimkhani is the single minded determination with which they went after their former leader - perhaps belying a personal vendetta. The claims are not new; Altaf has been accused of having links with the Indian spy agency RAW and anti-national ambitions before, although another endorsement from a former senior member might make it more credible. More damaging are the attacks on Altaf's conduct. The claims that he was often drunk at party meetings - with the knowledge of the Rabita committee furthermore - and that he made flippant use of party workers, often putting them in harms way, will damage his still-formidable cult of personality.
However, one problem with Mustafa Kamal's scathing attacks is that they focus solely on Altaf Hussain, blaming him for everything wrong with the party; from the links to India to association with organised crime and electoral defeats to PTI. It is unimaginable that other party members were not aware of such actions or that Altaf could have done all of this on his own. MQM's problems are shared by all its top leadership - including Mustafa Kamal and Anees Qaimkhani, who were part of this "anti-national and violent" party until the very end. Mr Qaimkhani even has non-bailable arrest warrants to his name; these two cannot paint themselves as innocent workers following orders. Secondly, their claim that they are not sponsored by the establishment also seem hard to believe. The whole episode resembles the "explosive" Saulat Mirza confession - a direct scripted attack at Altaf Hussain. Furthermore, wanted men don't usually return without guarantees of safety. Even if their words are not scripted, their return must have surely been coordinated with the government.
While Mustafa Kamal's claims may not turn out to be entirely according to reality but his heartfelt description of the party's fall needs no corroboration - at least in the eyes of the part worker. How this will affect the already reeling party remains to be seen.