Should have been prepared
The type of reaction being witnessed in Sindh, particularly Karachi, should lead the MQM to consider whether this is the best way to get justice for Altaf Hussain. The arrest should not have come as a surprise to anyone. For the last one year the Scotland Yard has been working on three serious cases against the MQM chief. The party leaders were better aware of the seriousness of these cases than the MQM workers and they also knew how the British system of justice worked. Besides, none better than MQM leaders understood the way the party workers were likely to react to the arrest if not prepared beforehand to deal with the impending shock. The incidents of violence that included burning of numerous vehicles and firing caused panic and led to shut downs of markets, educational institutions, government and private offices and public transport. Two days of ill-conceived reaction has caused billions of rupees of losses to the economy. It won’t do on the part of MQM leaders to simply dissociate the party from these incidents. What is expected from them is to stop the lawlessness.
The Sindh government, of which MQM is a part, has simply witnessed the ongoing mayhem as passive spectators. The chief minister was by no means ignorant of the developments taking place in London. He should have planned to deal with the situation before time with the help of his coalition partners. As things stand the chief minister will have to share the blame with the MQM.
Political parties in general have reacted to Altaf Hussain’s arrest in a mature way. None has tried to make any political capital out of it. Taking note of the difficulties being faced by the party, political rivals have extended sympathies to MQM, a fact duly recognised by Farooq Sattar himself. Nawaz Sharif has directed party leaders to avoid issuing any statement on the issue. The interior minister has promised to extend legal and moral support to the party. The NA Speaker too has expressed sympathy. Similar sentiments have been expressed by the PTI leaders while a PPP delegation visited the main MQM gathering in Karachi.
The MQM has to realise that it is by no means unusual for a political leader to go to jail. There is hardly any major Pakistani leader who has not been arrested, often on cooked up charges. The MQM chief should consider himself fortunate because Britain is a country where police, prosecution and courts are independent. The best way for the MQM to secure justice for its leader is not to indulge in a futile agitation but to concentrate on fighting the case.