TRADE union workers staged violent protests in Karachi on Monday, vandalising the head office of the Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) that led to the closure of its 120 branches citywide. Reports suggest that those stirring the unrest belong to the PPP. Whether it was for the sake of making some political capital or to serve vested interests, the incident is to be condemned. It is exactly incidents of the sort that pose a serious threat to investment possibilities in the country. The manner in which the protestors entered the office premises carrying automatic weapons sends a chill down one's spine. Eyewitnesses say that a PPP leader was instigating the crowd to violence and stopped the police from taking action against the rioters. Though the demonstrators most probably had certain grievances, which must be addressed, violence was certainly not the right way to go about airing them. It was for the first time that the bank's operations throughout the metropolitan city had been paralysed. The contribution of the banking sector in developing the country's economic strength is by no means small: MCB has brought investment worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Malaysia that is interested in further raising its stakes in this leading bank. Potential investors get scared of violent demonstrations lest their money should sink. There is need for a thorough probe. Since Karachi is Pakistan's business hub, it is all the more incumbent upon the Sindh government to forestall incidents that would harm its prospects.