State of uncertainty

MQM’s call for calm after the arrest of it's chief is admirable and hope this approach will continue over coming days.


Editorial June 05, 2014
Some leaders from the PPP and other parties have also joined the MQM sit-in. PHOTO: EXPRESS/MOHAMMAD NOMAN

With concern remaining high over the health of MQM chief Altaf Hussain, who was taken into custody by the London Metropolitan Police on June 3, Karachi and also other urban centres in Sindh remain in a state of uncertainty. Mr Hussain has been shifted to hospital soon after his detention and the medical prognosis on his condition is awaited. This will determine interrogation in an alleged money laundering case.

A huge sit-in has continued in Karachi, the city where the tremors from events in London have been most acutely felt. But with the MQM having given an early call for peace, things have remained generally calm, despite some sporadic violence. Shops are, however, closed in many areas, as are educational institutions and businesses, and this is obviously bad news. It is, however, not unexpected given the scale of the shock that came with the news from London. The MQM, of course, has an iron hold over urban Sindh. Other leaders too, including Imran Khan and Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, have expressed sympathy. Some leaders from the PPP and other parties have joined the sit-in. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, too, has expressed grief and ordered the High Commission in London to offer Mr Hussain full support.

Developments will continue. They will naturally be closely watched. The chain of events has been dramatic. We must hope calm in Karachi can be kept and ordinary people spared hardship. It is important to remember a few things. The British government is not a player in events. The police operate as an independent body. It is important then not to depict what is happening as victimisation. In terms of logic, it is also true multiple cases had been pending against the MQM chief. We do not yet know how these will develop, but we need to be prepared. The MQM’s call for calm is admirable, as is its hold over emotional workers. We hope this approach will continue over the coming days so we can be spared the violence so many had feared when news initially broke at home.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6th, 2014.

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