LAHORE - MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s pejorative remarks against the Pakistan Army have sparked angry reaction across the country and many people are demanding disbandment of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and stern action against its self-exiled leader who has been heading the party since its inception in the 80s.
The Balochistan Assembly set the tone by unanimously passing a resolution on Saturday, condemning the MQM chief’s statement, calling upon the federal government to bring him back to Pakistan through Interpol and register a treason case against him. The provincial home minister has been quoted as saying that Altaf had violated Article 6 of the Constitution (which carries capital punishment).
Other legislatures, federal as well as provincial, are expected to follow suit, a development that will provide the government with a justification to legally proceed against the MQM and its London-based boss for his contemptuous remarks against the national security institutions.
The Balochistan Assembly’s resolution came despite Altaf’s tendering an apology, a standard practice of “insults and apologies” he has been following every time he makes a reckless statement against the defenders of the country.
(In his latest speech which brought him under fire in the length and breadth of the country, Altaf said that those who had “surrendered were called patriots while the founders of Pakistan were dubbed traitors”. He had also alleged that the MQM had always been discriminated against. Reacting to Altaf Hussain’s statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Friday his statement against the Pakistan Army was “uncalled-for and disgusting” and that the matter would be pursued legally).
A day after tendering ‘apology’, Mr Altaf claimed he had not maligned the Army nor had sought help from Indian RAW. Still, he said, he apologised to the people and the state institution. But in the same breath he also said he won’t mind if a case was registered against him under Article 6.
This is not the first time that Altaf targeted the Army. He has repeatedly alleged that the establishment (a euphemism for the Army) is not tolerating the Mohajirs. On a number of occasions he demanded a separate province for Mohajirs, a call that led to endless controversies on whether the country could afford to carve out provinces on ethnic or linguistic bases.
In March, Rangers filed a case against Altaf for “threatening the paramilitary force” through a televised address from London. The case was registered under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Civil Lines police station, Karachi.
Had Altaf spoken against the Army for the first time, it could have been condoned as a “slip up”. But his track record shows that every time he faces a problem, he speaks against the national institution. Countless speeches made by him over the past years would vindicate the assertion.
He even tried to have the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) disbanded by the United Kingdom, for which he had written a letter to then prime minister Tony Blair. On July 11, 2013, a local newspaper had published a dispatch from its London correspondent that the British government confirmed that MQM chief had written to Mr Blair in September 2001, calling for the abolition of the ISI, Pakistan’s premier spy agency.
The newspaper said: “According to information released under the Freedom of Information Act, the letter was dated 23 September 2001, signed by Altaf Hussain and delivered to 10-Downing Street by Nirj Deva, who is currently a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Southeast of England”.   
 The news item said: “The British government was assured of MQM’s support in countering terrorism in Pakistan in return for help in achieving “equitable participation in governing the province of Sindh and in disbanding the ISI”.
The letter appealed that the “ISI must be disbanded otherwise it will continue to produce many Osama-bin-Ladens and Taliban in future.
The letter also gave the details of the cooperation offered by the MQM to have the needful done.
Britain’s Foreign Office confirmed “the Prime Minister’s Office received a letter from Altaf Hussain which was passed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for a response,” said the Cabinet Office, adding: “No information is held indicating that a response was sent to Mr Hussain”.
This only shows that the MQM chief has a specific agenda in his mind. His thinking has not changed in 15 years (starting from the above-mentioned letter to his latest speech being referred to).
Now the question is if Altaf is determined to follow the same course, what should the government do? The writer is of the considered opinion that the disbandment of the MQM is not the solution. Reason: If an individual or some individuals speak against the Army, something which is prohibited under the Constitution, the entire party should not be made to face the consequences. The action should be confined to the wrong-doers or the loose tongues.
The easiest and the most effective way of getting rid of “insults from London” lies in barring a foreign national from heading a Pakistan-based political party. So far, it is debatable whether Altaf Hussain, a British national, can head the MQM. But if the parliament passes a clear law and bars a foreign national from leading a party in Pakistan, Altaf will lose the chieftainship. And once this happens, he will not be able to deliver the kind of speeches he is known for.
What will be the result of such a simple step? Either Altaf Hussain will have to surrender his British nationality and return to Pakistan to lead the party (and face cases pending against him) or the party will have to elect a new head. If Altaf comes back to Pakistan, he will not have the kind of sting that he shows sitting thousands of miles away. But if he doesn’t, which will most likely be the case, the party will have to choose a new chief, who will have to adjust himself to the new ground realities.  
Thinking of disbanding the MQM will only open a new Pandora’s box.