Mass rallies continued in Pakistan's biggest city of Karachi on Thursday (June 5) over the arrest of a Pakistani politician in the UK.Altaf Hussain, leader of the powerful Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party and wanted in Pakistan in relation to a murder case, was arrested in northwest London where he has lived in self-imposed exile since the early 1990s.

Karachi had been in lockdown for two days on Tuesday (June 3) and Wednesday (June 4), with shops
and markets closed and people staying home for fear of violence following the arrest in London of
one of the country's most feared men.Karachi, a sprawling and violent port city of 18 million, is virtually controlled by Hussain's party, and reports of sporadic violence emerged as soon as news of his arrest reached the city.

A local MQM leader, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, announced by midnight on Wednesday (June 4) that the
sit-in protests by thousands of Hussain's supporters will continue."In light of the conversation with Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Altaf Hussain on Wednesday evening, the Coordination Committee of Muttahida Qaumi Movement, has appealed to the people, especially transporters and traders to resume the routine activities in Sindh province. However, the Coordination Committee has clarified that the sit-in protests in Sindh province, including Karachi, will continue," he said.

Despite the continued rallies, Karachi residents were relieved that the city was no longer in

lockdown on Thursday.

"There can be no compensation for the loss which Karachi and the whole of Pakistan has borne during
this two-day shutdown. Thank God the Coordination Committee decided to open the businesses," said
shopkeeper Riffat Khan, who sells television sets at a market in downtown.
"The government should take proper measures for such a situation in the future. Everything was
shut, what will a person do? The government should look into the matter," added resident, Mohammad
Muqeem while standing in a queue at a petrol station.The ability of Hussain's supporters to shut down Pakistan's commercial hub for two days underscores his influence and many fear that riots might still erupt.

The cost of the shutdown will also weigh heavily on a city already beset by daily violence and feudal spats between its many ethnic and political groups.A spokesman for London police said Hussain remained in custody where he is being questioned on suspicion of money laundering.

The MQM party's support base is millions of Muslim Urdu-speaking people whose families migrated to
Karachi and nearby areas at the time of the 1947 partition of India.Hussain, 60, fled to London in 1992 and obtained British citizenship a decade later. He continued to exert control over Karachi from his north London headquarters and remains one of Pakistan's most feared and divisive figures.

He is known for his fiery addresses to his supporters in Karachi though a loudspeaker connected to
a telephone in his London home. His hold on Karachi is so strong that he is capable of shutting down entire neighbourhoods.But his arrest poses broader risks for the party, whose influence has already been diluted in
recent years by the influx of other ethnic groups to Karachi including Taliban-linked Pashtun warlords.