Silence and activity
With nothing but silence from the London offices of the MQM leader, Altaf Hussain, it is not possible to gauge how developments in Pakistan are being received. Notwithstanding that, events are moving swiftly on several fronts. The soft coup mounted by Dr Farooq Sattar a week ago is consolidating, although it is too early to say that the party is united behind him and there are obvious differences, with Wasay Jalil, a coordination committee member, saying that any decision to split with the London end of the party is unacceptable. The moving of a resolution in parliament by Dr Sattar on September 2 condemning the August 22 speech that sparked the current turmoil has changed nothing in real terms.
There are two realities — one is that it will not be easy to airbrush Altaf Hussain out of the picture in a ‘Minus-One’ scenario, and the other is that the MQM is a legitimate political party with parliamentary presence and the government cannot willy-nilly set about proscribing its operations as some quarters are advocating. People vote for the MQM in their millions as is their right and for many of those voters, the man still at the top is Altaf Hussain. The government needs to show a little more restraint in its approach to the MQM. Bulldozing MQM buildings said to be encroachments is one thing, wholesale detentions of members and activists another. For the MQM, a revision of its constitution to exclude Altaf Hussain may be a step in the right direction but it is going to be difficult to sell to many of the rank and file membership. Either way there is a significant shift within the MQM that is still ‘in process’ rather than concluded. If the final position results in a more peaceful Karachi, then so be it and welcome, but the government needs to stand back and let events take their course.
Stranded Pakistanis
Reports of dwindling foreign exchange funds have permeated the Pakistani media over the past several months. Economies where the majority of Pakistani expatriates work have been hit by tumbling oil prices amongst other economic woes. However, the human costs of this story have gone under-reported. Foreign exchange is not being sent to Pakistan because those earning it are losing their livelihoods and are desperately struggling to make ends meet. Over 8,000 Pakistanis working for various construction companies in Saudi Arabia are not receiving salaries and are living in fear of incarceration due to expired work permits. The prime minister has now called for the Pakistan embassy in Riyadh to extend support to these workers in resolving these issues.
Many of these individuals are currently living in dire circumstances. Since their work permits have expired, they are afraid of getting arrested by Saudi authorities. They are forced to spend all their time either at work where they don’t get paid or in cramped company quarters surviving on paltry sums occasionally given to them by employers that barely cover basic necessities. Their passports are in the custody of their employers and the work permits remain expired since it is the employers’ task to pay the required fees and get them renewed. The legal and economic status of these workers is in jeopardy and cases put forth to labour courts have not yielded results thus far. For many, the option of forgoing their current employment and returning home without back pay does not exist. The earnings of these workers have provided a much-needed boost to our economy for the past several decades. Now that they need legal and economic support from their home country, they must not be left in the lurch. The situation being faced by Pakistani workers in Saudi Arabia is untenable and the government must follow through with its statements by making efforts to improve their living situation immediately.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 3rd, 2016.