Media trial won’t do

Solid evidence is what is required to make a case against MQM

Altaf Hussain insists that his party has zero tolerance for terrorism and criminal activities. Few outside MQM would buy the denial. Ever since its creation the MQM has been accused of resorting to violence to achieve its political aims. The accusations have come from several quarters including political parties, media organisations and MQM dissidents. These have however failed to convince MQM loyalists who have dismissed them as propaganda.

MQM was blamed of acting on India’s instigation in the past also. The decision by Pervez Musharraf to embrace the party however led to the withdrawal of criminal cases registered against it, including the case of the kidnapping and torture of Major Kaleem. The military ruler depended on MQM for political survival at a time when its workers were reportedly receiving military training from RAW. The story filed by BBC journalist Owen Bennett-Jones indicates that after 2006 the number of the party activists receiving training in India considerably increased. This raises disturbing questions about Musharraf’s nexus with MQM during 2002-2008.

While attempts were made by the establishment to conduct MQM’s media trial whenever the party fell afoul of those who matter, what was never done was collecting solid evidence against party bigwigs who directed its machinery of terror or hobnobbed with foreign agencies. The failure by the Rangers to prepare a foolproof case against Amir Khan despite interrogation spreading over 90 days is a sad commentary on the ability of the intelligence agencies in preparing a case.

What Altaf Hussain said about the MQM ‘crowd sitting here’ taking to the streets if he was not the party chief ‘and every street witnessing war’ points to the violent streak in the party. The threat to shut down Karachi for six months through sit-ins also strengthens the same perception. What matters in a law court, however, is solid evidence rather than widespread perceptions. This is what needs to be procured. Once the proofs are in hand, anyone involved in anti-state activities, irrespective of their position in the party, should be taken to justice.