Editorial

Altaf Hussain’s speech

MQM as a major party needs to be much more cautious about what it says and precisely what language its leaders use

Editorial August 03, 2015

PHOTO: MQM

The speeches being delivered by MQM chief Altaf Hussain are becoming increasingly provocative and irrational. In his latest address, made from London to MQM supporters in Dallas, he had suggested that Nato and UN forces be called in to investigate, what he termed a campaign against the MQM in Karachi, and where responsibility for it lies. Coming from the chief of an important political party, such irresponsible statements do nothing for the MQM’s cause. Given the wording of the MQM leader’s speech, it is difficult to believe the rather feeble denial issued by the party that its head had not called for foreign intervention. The Pakistan government expressed its outrage, with Chaudry Nisar Ali Khan, the interior minister, saying it was considering moving a legal reference against Mr Hussain, who has lived in the UK since the 1990s. Chaudry Nisar has said the UK government and police would be contacted regarding what he terms an attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty. Britain’s high commissioner to Pakistan is also being summoned. However, it remains unclear whether Mr Hussain broke any British laws during the course of his speech and whether any move by the Pakistan government in this regard would bear any fruit.

Be that as it may, the MQM needs to review the facts clearly and practically. The operation being carried out in Karachi, which the party perceives targets it, has clearly helped improve law and order in the city and does have support of important stakeholders, including citizens. The Rangers have been able to bring down the rate of crime and also put some dent in the corrupt activities of various mafias operating in the city. Given these realities, the MQM as a major party needs to be much more cautious about what it says and precisely what language its leaders use. Mr Hussain’s latest call is, essentially, unacceptable and the government’s outrage is understandable. However, it needs to correct the perception that has developed that the operation by the law-enforcement agencies specifically targets Karachi and its political parties. While there is a need for the major parties of the city to cleanse themselves of any criminal elements that may exist within them, there is also a need for the kind of action being carried out by the authorities to be extended to all parts of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2015.

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COMMENTS (3)

Naeem Khan | 9 years ago | Reply @S.R.H. Hashmi: I have 2 question for you sir. One is why you people still call yourselves Mohajirs even after 67 years and some of you are born, raised and served the nation. Would it not be prudent to call yourselves Pakistanis from Sindh. Second, can you deny that Mr.Hussain has said on record in India while visiting there that the creation of Pakistan was a mistake. Was it?

S.R.H. Hashmi | 9 years ago | Reply Altaf Hussain’s speeches have been varying in tone from friendly to not-so-friendly, and beyond. And his latest speech has created some sort of storm all over Pakistan, whereas in real terms, it could not amount to much more than a storm in the tea cup for the simple reason that the perceived threats posed to Pakistan as a result of Altaf Hussain’s urgings are more imaginary than real. After all, no body in his right mind would believe that the countries or institutions requested by Altaf Hussain to intervene in Pakistan would take his wish as their command and oblige. Anybody who approaches the issue with an open mind would know that Altaf Hussain’s speech is nothing but a loud protest against the treatment given to MQM members by the authorities, specially to an ailing person like Qamar Mansoor who is being denied much-needed medical facilities despite court’s directions and in the circumstances when he is to bear the cost of the treatment himself. Surprisingly, this factor which is be behind Altaf Hussains’s outbursts seems to have failed totally in attracting the attention of most of the anchorpersons as well as political parties and individuals who are busy presenting resolutions in the assemblies and launching campaigns against Altaf Hussain and even MQM both at home and abroad I have not seen such venomous attitude adopted, and such a revengeful campaign launched even against militants and terrorists who pose an existential threat to the country and have already caused over fifty thousand fatalities among Pakistani civilians and soldiers, or even against those in Balochistan who take people off buses, check their identity cards and kill them on account of their ethnicity or because of belonging to particular sects. With the blame for ethnic killings in Balochistan conveniently labeled to be the work of agencies of enemy countries, no serious effort is considered necessary to address the grievances of Balochs which have been ably narrated by Hussain Nadim in his article titled ‘Stabilising Balochistan’ published in Express Tribune on July 11. On a slightly different note, Dawn of August 4 carries two headline news. The main headline reads ‘Pressure mounts for action against Altaf’. And the Metro section has the headline ‘Centre delays plan to launch mardressah reforms in provinces,’ with the first paragraph reading ”As the provincial government finds it hard to seal unregistered madressahs in Sindh, the federal government is playing its part as well in delaying the issue of madressah reforms by not sending guidelines to the provinces to launch the plan’. In an earlier report it was stated that this was the fear of stiff resistance from the formidable street power of madressah’s and their allied groups which is holding back the law enforcers from launching an operation against them. I had always believed that while facing problems on multiple fronts, the determining factor in deciding the order in which to take them on, and how much force to use against each, was the level of threat they posed to the county and the people. It seems this order has been changed and the battle-fronts are being picked up on the basis of threat they present personally to the personnel pursuing such battles, and that makes MQM the most popular target because the party presents no resistance at all except of course the verbal ones, which fall on deaf ears. Karachi

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