An event as seismic as Altaf Hussains arrest in London was bound to have dramatic effects on Karachi. In fact it has excited and worried the entire country. It is also one that continues to cast a cloud of uncertainty and tension. The MQM Rabita Committee has called for peaceful protests and continued its huge sit-in at Numaish Chowrangi for the second day on Wednesday. But how long charged-up activists follow their lead is still an open question. There were many reports of arson in the city on Tuesday. More than a dozen vehicles were set on fire, despite calls from some MQM leaders for calm. The fear was and is that more anger may be unleashed as the extent of Altafs legal woes comes to light. On Wednesday though the city remained in an ominous shutdown mode with shutters down and streets clear of traffic, but mercifully calm on the whole. This could well change any time, based on what happens over the next day or so in London, where matters lie in the hands of the London Metropolitan Police. No one is sure how long it will be before life returns to normalcy. But with the Imran Farooq case still being investigated there could be further woe for Altaf and by extension Karachi in store. What happens next will end up being determined by Altafs health.
Some good news came late on Wednesday night when Altaf Hussain was allowed to talk to his party leaders in the MQM Secretariat for 10 minutes and assured them that his health was better. He is now in police custody in hospital and a decision over whether he should be interrogated further will be made on the basis of medical tests. His lawyers, who were allowed to meet him in the hospital on Wednesday, meanwhile, have moved a plea for bail while the Pakistan high commission in London has sought consular access to Altaf following advice from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that he be offered moral and legal support as required. It is somewhat uncertain if this is being offered to Altaf given his status as a prominent politician or simply because he is also a citizen of Pakistan. The former seems more likely. But it remains a tricky proposition given Altafs citizenship status. Indeed, politicians across the country have taken up the matter just as zealously as citizens on the social media. All the political parties in the country, many of whom have levelled allegations against Altaf far worse than a charge of money laundering, have come out in support of the beleaguered MQM chief. The most hypocritical of the lot may be Imran Khan, who had approached Scotland Yard himself to present evidence against Altaf. He has also asked MQM workers not to put Karachi in peril. Former president Asif Ali Zardari has stated that justice needs to be done and the PPP chief minister of Sindh says he is hurt by Altafs plight. The ruling PPP and the MQM, of course, dominate politics in Sindh and are currently in alliance.
How things will pan out from here is hard to say but the doors may be closing in on Altaf and the MQM may soon have to accept the reality that there is very little it can do for its leader from Karachi. It may be tempting to want to bring Karachi to its knees but rectitude may be the order of the day, since any pressure put on the British government is likely to be ignored. As far as the British are concerned they are investigating alleged crimes committed by a British citizen in Britain. The laws of the UK will have to be followed through to whatever end they reach. We must hope the MQM is able to demonstrate maturity in understanding this. There may not be much the government of Pakistan can really do to intervene in a matter that involves law- enforcers of another land. The warnings had come earlier with the freezing of Altafs bank accounts in the UK. Things have now gone further. The Altaf saga is going to play out at a snails pace in the British courts and it is neither moral nor practical to hold a city hostage for that. Many in the city have already suffered a day without petrol, water, even food and its bound to have gotten worse as another day dawns. For many Karachi residents, this is like living in a city under seige. Peaceful sit-ins like the one being held at Numaish Chowrangi are an appropriate response. We must hope they do not spill over into violence that can only wreck the limited stability and calm Karachi knows.