Daily Times

UK police have sought the Pakistan government’s help to bring charges against MQM-London head Altaf Hussain. The allegations of hate speech against him are serious, and certainly need to be probed. The government of Pakistan has not responded to the development so it is unclear if they will be able to offer the help the British government is looking for.

Former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar was quite interested in investigating allegations against Altaf Hussain and the MQM during his ministership. The disgruntled leader of the ruling party had also requested Interpol to issue a red warrant for Hussain and termed the UK government’s reluctance to act against him as an irritant in relations between the two countries. Some analysts were critical of Nisar for his disinterest in doing what was more important — going after the terrorists, for instance. It was termed ironic that the former Interior minister spoke about action against hate speech in Altaf Hussain’s case while holding meetings with leaders of banned sectarian outfits — who often engage in hate speech against minority communities. Nisar’s priorities were misplaced and his apparent lack of action was noticeable because he had defended the terror groups a number of times while justifying his meetings with their leaders.

The fact that action against ‘hate speech’ — which resulted in a ban on airing Hussain’s speeches in the media — has not been across the board is concerning. Hate speech by religious terror groups continues despite the civilian and military leadership’s resolve to curb the same under National Action Plan (NAP). This is one of the reasons why Rangers operation in Karachi was termed controversial by several quarters.

It is hoped that the new Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal will understand that in the current situation, acting against terrorism and extremism so as to ensure the success of the ongoing military operations against terror is more important.

MQM-Pakistan is now a separate entity and is not associated with the group that Altaf Hussain heads. Therefore, the government should ensure that any step taken by UK police against Hussain in London should not result in harassment of MQM activists in Pakistan. The leaders of MQM-Pakistan have multiple times clarified that they do not support Hussain’s anti-Pakistan statements. We should take their word for it and refrain from doling out treason certificates.*

Published in Daily Times, September 7^th 2017.