ISLAMABAD: The interior minister reached out to British authorities amidst calls from the country’s main opposition parties to raise the issue of Muttahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain’s anti-Pakistan diatribe with the UK authorities.

Both the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI), however, opposed the idea of banning the party or its political activities and advised saner elements within the MQM to distance themselves from Altaf Hussain and the party’s ‘militant wing’.

Talking to reporters in his Parliament House chambers on Tuesday, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah asked the government to summon the UK high commissioner and lodge a strong protest over the use of British soil to challenge Pakistan’s integrity and sovereignty.

The PPP leader said this was perhaps the first incident in the country’s political history that the head of a major party had harmed his own party’s repute in such a way, adding that it would be difficult for patriotic workers and leaders to continue to work under Mr Hussain’s leadership, who was “against Pakistan’s ideology”.

Mr Shah even hinted at the possibility of “an Indian conspiracy” aimed at diverting attention from the ongoing atrocities in India-held Kashmir.

But he was quite clear. “Being a political worker, I cannot make a such a demand,” he said when asked about calls for a ban on MQM.

PTI chief Imran Khan also expressed similar views and opposed the idea of banning the MQM since “not everyone in the party was a terrorist”.

He maintained that there were educated people within the party who could run it better by distancing themselves from Mr Hussain, and called for stern action against the MQM’s ‘militants wing’.

The PTI chief also asked the government to raise the matter with UK authorities and ask them how a British citizen can be allowed to spread unrest and violence in Pakistan while sitting in London.

He recalled that former UK prime minister David Cameroon had assured him of action against Mr Hussain when he had taken up the matter of PTI activist Zahra Shahid’s killing in Karachi. However, he regretted that no action was taken despite such assurances.

He alleged that despite possessing concrete proof of money-laundering against the MQM chief as well as evidence of his connections with Indian intelligence, no government in the past had taken any action against him, simply because they needed the MQM’s support in parliament.

Imran Khan also rejected Mr Hussain’s apology for his anti-Pakistan remarks, saying that this was not the first time he had done something like this and accused the MQM chief of running his party as if he were the “head of a mafia”.

When asked about Farooq Sattar’s presser, where the MQM had announced its decision to run the party from Karachi, he said only the time would tell how independent and powerful Dr Sattar could be in the future.

“The whole world could forget the Panama Papers issue, but I can’t,” Mr Khan said, announcing plans to hold a massive public gathering in Lahore on Sept 3 to protest the government’s delaying tactics over an inquiry into the Panama Papers scandal.

He also reiterated the party’s resolve to approach the Supreme Court over the matter, but did not specify when they would be taking their case to court.

Nisar seeks UK cooperation

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the interior ministry said that Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had taken up the matter of Mr Hussain’s anti-Pakistan speech with top UK officials, but did not specify who.

The statement said the minister had sought Britain’s help to bring to book the man who was responsible for inciting mob violence in Pakistan.

The act of using British soil against Pakistan’s peace and sovereignty was highly condemnable, the statement said, adding that Mr Hussain’s remarks had disheartened and ridiculed the nation in general and Urdu-speaking people in particular.

The minister also spoke with Sindh Rangers Director General Maj Gen Bilal Akbar and asked him to ensure the security of media houses in Karachi, saying that apart from local police, Rangers should be available for the purpose.

Meanwhile, Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal said he was happy to see that a number of MQM leaders and workers had disassociated themselves from Mr Hussain’s statement.

“I believe that the [anti-Pakistan] slogans were also an embarrassment for the Muhajir community, who had sacrificed their lives and property for the sake of Pakistan,” he said.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in the capital, Mr Iqbal said that political parties could disagree with each other over political issues, but statements against the country could be tolerated.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2016