'Indian Agent, Indian Agent, Indian Agent ...'

Recently, in an interview with Zee News, inLondon, Altaf Hussain,  chief of Pakistan'sMuttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), took considerable pains to distance himself from thepersistent charges of being an "Indian agent, Indian agent, Indian agent, Indian agent,Indian agent, Indian agent" and said he wasn't one, and that hehad not met any Indian leader thus far, but that the option could not be ruledout.

"Nothing is impossible," he said, adding, "Whether I make itpossible or the ruling establishment of Pakistan, only time would tell."

"Main agar Bharat ke wazir-i-azam se mulaqat karoonga, Bharat ke siyaasirehnumaaon se mulaqaat karoonga to chhup kar nahin danke ki chot par karoongakyonki main kisi se nahin dartaa... aur koi cheez namumkin nahin hoti..."

(If I meet the prime minister of India, or the politicians of India, I shallnot do it seceretly, but shall do it openly, publically ... because I am not afraid ofanyone... and nothing is impossible)

Hussain had recently told PTI in London that he planned to visit India andmeet the prime minister, besides visiting his ancestral home in Agra.

He had said he would be writing to the Indian government seeking permissionto visit India to talk to Vajpayee.

The MQM leader, who is in self-exile in London, was also quoted in the Pakistani daily,The Nation, as saying thathe would meet Indian leaders and apprise them of the "injustice"against mohajirs in Pakistan.

Hussain also warned Islamabad not to repeat "past mistakes" whichhad led to dismemberment of Pakistan and formation of Bangladesh.

While threatening to launch a "mohajir bahini", he said "thepeople will not wait for whether I call for forming mohajir bahini or not. It isretribution. If the prevailing things do not change, atrocities on them are notstopped and they are denied their due rights, they can do this at any time".

Hussain said "the reality is that we are neither terrorists not believein terrorism".

On the proposed summit between Musharraf and Vajpayee, he said Vajpayee'sinvitation to the Pakistani military ruler for talks was "a good steptowards establishment of peace in the region .... And hopefully it will helpresolve the Kashmir issue through negotiations."

The MQM chief said "I appeal to the present rulers, army and theestablishment not to repeat the past mistakes which led to the dismemberment ofPakistan."

Stating that he would write an open letter to Indian muslims, the MQM chiefsaid he would appeal to them "to hold rallies in India in order to conveythis to the Indian government as well as human rights organisations to apprisethem of the treatment being meted out to mohajirs in Pakistan".

When asked about his controversial statement about the two-nation theory,Altaf Hussain said, "Events of the past 54 years have proved the theory tobe a failure." 

He said that the Muslim minority provinces like UP and Biharwere in the forefront of the Pakistan movement but the borders of Pakistan wereclosed to the Indian Muslims in 1951. 

"The only Muslim-majorityprovince to have supported Pakistan movement was Bengal but Bengalis were calledtraitors in Pakistan and they were forced to secede. A theory that divides theIndian Muslims into three parts cannot be supported."

Quizzed whether his recent marraige to a Sindhi lady was a political alliance, Hussain said, "It was a match arranged by his family and was not alove marriage."

The leader of MQM, a group that is trying to build a bridge with like-mindedparties in Pakistan, said, "The country needs a new constitution which willgive equal rights to all provinces."

Towards the end of the programme he was asked about his favourite poet, andtrue to from he recited Allama Iqbal's

Saare jahaan se achchaa Hindustan hamaaraa,
hum bulbul-e haiN iskii, ye gulsitaaN hamaaraa

Interestingly, when ex-prime miniter I.K. Gujral was recently asked aboutPakistan ambassador and foreign minister wanting Musharraf to meet Hurriyatduring his upcoming Indian visit had reposted that it was somewhat analogous toan Indian prime minister visiting Pakistan and meeting Altaf Hussain of MQM