I think we can all agree that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is self-destructive. Neither Altaf Hussain’s tirades against the army nor party members protesting “state terrorism” outside UN headquarters are likely to win them any new fans. Asma Jahangir may believe that the blanket media ban on Hussain’s speeches is “against the Constitution” but she would have trouble arguing this point in the US, much less Pakistan. The US’s sacred First Amendment, the one safeguarding free speech, has no allowance for incitement or “fighting words”. Regrettably, many of Hussain’s recent speeches have been just that. Still, the government needs to be careful with Karachi. If MQM leader Farooq Sattar is right and the establishment seeks to “eliminate his party” from the city, it behooves Islamabad to look at the bigger picture. The MQM is no longer the sum of its Muhajir vote bank; it is a political mangrove rooted in the very concrete of the metropolis. Also, despite its unfortunate racketeering tendencies, the party has been a bastion of secularism for three decades and has, for the most part, prevented Karachi from being overrun by radical groups. This is important now because Karachi is the perfect petri dish for expansive global jihad. An urban sprawl its size is large enough to cloak conspiracies yet small enough for the conspirators to meet in person. It is also a dream port for in-transit terrorism, connecting jihadists from the Middle East and Africa to restive areas in East Asia. Though the Rangers have successfully clamped down on violence in the city, their operation cannot continue forever. A political counterbalance to radicalism is necessary in the long run and, for better or worse, the MQM is it right now. There are many telltale signs of jihadist groups making headway in Karachi and their appeal swelling among the affluent Clifton and DHA set. In May, a well-off young man named Saad Aziz confessed to the Safoora Goth and Sabeen Mahmud murders on convoluted religious grounds. More recently, on October 6, the police nabbed an educated elite person named Owais Raheel for his ties to banned militant outfits and for “brainwashing young men into jihad”. Then, just a week ago, law enforcement sources revealed the existence of 50 Islamic State (IS) “inspired” militants in the city. Two accusations commonly levelled at the MQM are of ‘hijacking’ Karachi in the 1990s and being a major hurdle to peace in the city. These allegations, if true, have far graver consequences than are immediately obvious. If we assume that Hussain and his lieutenants have thus far ruled with an iron fist and that the MQM is a bulwark against Islamist terror, then who fills the power vacuum when their boat sinks? Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party, rumoured to be the establishment’s new blue-eyed boy, can only campaign in Karachi right now, not hold it down. History shows us that the great tug of war between racial and ideological forces shapes human societies. For over two decades, the MQM has controlled Karachi through ethnic politics and by strategically playing the victim card. In this time, it has coalesced the majority of the Muhajir vote, which totals over 13 million people. What happens to the city when this party gets sectioned off? For one, hitherto capped forces of ideology will sense an uptick in fortune. The most dangerous of these is pan-Islamic radicalism, the kind represented by IS and al Qaeda. We have to remember that third generation Muhajirs may not know the suffering that spawned the MQM but have still grown up around the ‘us versus them’ narrative relating to the state. These young people are not going to throw in their lot with the next best thing if their party falls away. Grievances, especially those absorbed through familial tradition, do not just disappear; they simply change colour. In the worst-case scenario, many young members of a defunct MQM could don radical stripes to continue fighting the state. For those sceptical, IS’s unbroken march in Iraq highlights necessity as the mother of unforeseen alliances. During Saddam Hussein’s reign, the secular Baathists and Islamists were mortal foes. Hussein hated the preacher types with a passion and his cadres brutally repressed them. Yet now, after being humbled by the US invasion, the remnants of Hussein’s regime have teamed up with the old enemy for a common cause: wresting back power in Iraq. Consequently, Islamabad must allow the MQM to save face, not because it can play kingmaker in future elections but because Karachi needs a strong political predator in the fight against extremism. Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif will undoubtedly take flak for talking the MQM into returning to parliament but that is the right idea under the circumstances. Making up with Altaf Hussain has its share of headaches but the MQM is not an existential problem for Pakistan. Unchecked extremism in the country’s financial hub, however, could become one. The writer is a freelance columnist and audio engineer based in Islamabad