The viewers who saw PML(N) and MQM leaders entering a mud-fest on Wednesday night were utterly dumbfounded. Never in the history of this country had political discourse touched the depths that it has done now. Whenever something of the sort happens, aspersions are also cast on the character of the female family members of the opponents family, an unfortunate aspect of the patriarchal structure of our society. On the issue itself, though both sides behaved immaturely, one could venture to say that the response of one party was perhaps disproportionately caustic. Politics is the art of the thick-skinned; the occasional criticism, even for a party founder, should be countered with civil refutation.
Though the spat was started by the chiefs of the MQM and the PML(N), the climax came with Ch Nisars disparaging remarks about Altaf Hussains private and family life. These were utterly uncalled for, particularly from an experienced parliamentarian who also holds the office of the Leader of the Opposition. It was alright to criticise Altaf for his collaboration with Musharraf and to challenge his credentials as a revolutionary that he poses to be on that basis; but it was highly regrettable to target his private and family life. Ch Nisar suggested that Altaf Hussain is not in his senses most of the time. Further, he also insinuated that he suffers from a mysterious manly disease. He also hinted at bringing the statement of his ex-wife on record. The muckraking started by Ch Nisar was taken to the extreme by MQMs Haider Abbas Rizvi and Waseem Akhtar who seemed to have lost self control and crossed all limits of decency. Beginning with making fun of the Sharif brothers physical appearance and their sex life they did not spare even the female members of the Sharif family. They threatened that the Sharifs will not be safe in Lahore and would not be allowed to come to Karachi in the future unless they apologised for the language against their party chief.
By entering into the mud-fest, the two parties have only put limits on their maneuverability. In case of the two mainstream parties failing to get absolute majority in the next elections they will have to seek allies to form a government. It is therefore necessary for both the mainstream parties and smaller groups to maintain working relations. Instead of resorting to an eye for an eye policy there is a need now to realise that the whole affair was highly regrettable and should not have occurred.