According to an official spokesman, the Prime Minister said that Altaf Hussain is a Pakistani citizen and the government will provide all possible legal assistance to him. The spokesman further said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had also held telephonic conversations with Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad and inquired about Altaf Hussain's health.
The Prime Minister also prayed for the early recovery of MQM chief and asked the Governor to keep him informed about the development regarding Altaf Hussain's case. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the federal government will remain in touch with Governor Sindh regarding the case.
The Prime Minister also chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation after arrest of MQM chief in London. Sources said the meeting was attended by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sardar Mehtab Abbasi.
They said that Interior Minister briefed the meeting on the overall law and order situation in the country, particularly in Karachi in the aftermath of Altaf Hussain's arrest in London. Interior Minister also informed the meeting about his conversation with Governor Sindh, in which the latter had assured him that law and order would be maintained in Karachi. Nisar said the federal government would extend all possible co-operation to the Sindh government to maintain peace in the city.
Meanwhile, Pakistani High Commission in London has asked for access to MQM Chief on the directives of the Prime Minister. When contacted, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Alslam, however, declined to share any update in this regard, saying "nothing to say at the moment".
Talking to reporters here Wednesday, Minister for Information Pervez Rashid said that immediately after knowing about arrest of Altaf Hussain in London, the Prime Minister directed Pakistani High Commission in the UK to contact the MQM leader to know about the type of legal or moral assistance the government could extend to him. He said the government would do in the case of Altaf Hussain what it does for any Pakistani facing difficulty in any part of the globe, adding that the government would play its role in this regard.
About the Karachi situation, he said that it was the responsibility of every one to help secure Karachi, adding that no one sitting in Islamabad should try to create problems in Karachi especially when its consequences could be negative for the opposition as well. "All those who have some influence in Karachi should play their role to defuse the situation in the city," he said.
The minister also termed PPP's Aitzaz Ahsan's statement as "irresponsible" and "misleading". "Aitzaz Ahsan should know what his remarks could do in Karachi where government of his party is in power," he said, adding that he wondered whether Aitzaz wanted to create problems for his own provincial government in Sindh. Meanwhile, the MQM protest against the arrest of its chief Altaf Hussain by London Metropolitan Police is costing the Pakistan's economy up to Rs 10 billion a day.
Mohammad Idrees, Vice President, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), while talking to Business Recorder over the phone from Karachi, said that with one day closure of the country's financial hub, Karachi, national kitty suffers an overall loss of Rs 10 billion.
Commercial activities in Karachi and other major cities of the Sindh province remained suspended for the last two days, although the party leadership maintained that the suspension of commercial activities was the result of spontaneous reaction to the arrest of the MQM chief.
"The business community is suffering a huge loss due to strikes in the city, which have compelled the traders to close their businesses," said the KCCI vice-president, who also stated that strikes were also badly impacting exports and imports. Vice president Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry and former president Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI), Senator Haji Ghulam Ali, said protests in Karachi cost billions of rupees to the country's economy.
He said the country's economy was already in a deficit and the protests in the economic hub of the country would further weaken the economy. "We do have sympathies with MQM and its workers, but the arrest has been made in London, therefore they need to take legal course of action in the UK instead of bringing the country to a standstill," he maintained.
He said the London Metropolitan Police were independent and Pakistan had also sought its help in various cases due to its impartiality. "The MQM and its workers should leave the matter to the London Metropolitan Police," he said, adding that the government also needed to extend all possible legal and diplomatic assistance to the MQM chief. When contacted, MQM's senior leader Sheikh Salahuddin said the MQM's protest would continue until and unless the party Chief Altaf Hussain addressed the party workers.
About the latest situation in London, he said that currently Altaf Hussain was not in good health and the party workers were waiting for 'good-news'. "MQM Quaid is suffering from heart problems and problem in his knee and he should be extended all possible health facilities," he added.