Offices reopen as Altaf takes back decision to disband MQM

Karachi
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement reopened all its headquarters, zonal, sector and unit offices on Thursday, hours after shutting them down in reaction to what it called “a targeted operation’ against its leaders and workers.
The party had closed the offices, including the Khursheed Begum Memorial Secretariat at Nine Zero, in the wee hours of Thursday after its chief, Altaf Hussain, expressed his anger apparently over the party’s improper functioning.
Late on Wednesday night, he said the party should be disbanded if its office-bearers continued acting cowardly and failed to express their resentment over issues to the relevant quarters. But a few hours later when senior party leaders insisted he take back his decision to disband the MQM, he withdrew his decision and ordered reopening all offices at around 6am.
Addressing the MQM office-bearers and workers, Hussain said the government agencies were bent on eliminating the MQM and crushing Mohajirs on the pretext of the operation.
He said the constitution and the law were being trampled, and people in Karachi were being subjected to oppression and injustices.
“The idea of a separate province is fast developing among the Mohajirs as a result of continued injustices and oppression. They are beginning to think that a separate province is the only way to get rid of the injustices.”
Hussain said: “We are the descendants of the founders of Pakistan. Our forefathers laid down hundreds of thousands of lives for Pakistan, but we have been discriminated against since the inception of the country and deprived of our legitimate rights. The quota system and other discriminatory laws were used to usurp our due share.
“MQM workers are once against being killed extrajudicially. They are being implicated in false cases and subjected to inhuman treatment in detention. Filthy and abusive language is used against Mohajirs.
“Rangers have twice raided the MQM headquarters, but no raid has been carried out at the office of any other political party during the operation. The second raid was conducted on the 29th night of Ramazan.”
The MQM founder further said: “The in-charge of the Coordination Committee, Kahfilwara, and member Qamar Mansoor were arrested during the second raid. It was alleged that they have organised the speech of Altaf Hussain. They heard the speech and clapped on it. Which law forbids anybody from holding the speech, hearing it and clapping on it?”
He said that the DG Rangers could not absolve himself of the extrajudicial killings and excesses committed during the ongoing operation in Karachi as the Rangers were leading the operation with the full backing of the Sindh government.
Hussain condemned a former Sindh police chief for making unfounded allegations against the MQM. He added that the ex-IGP was responsible for the killings of hundreds of MQM workers and Murtaza Bhutto.
When he asked the workers and office-bearers if the MQM should be disbanded because of state repression, they replied in one voice that they were ready to bear anything for the sake of the party.
Hussain said bold decisions would have to be taken as the MQM was meant for giving a better future to the coming generations. “When workers are giving sacrifices, the leaders and office-bearers should also prepare themselves mentally.”

MQM to protest
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) announced plans to hold a peaceful demonstration on Friday (today) outside the head office of a media group, located near Zainab Market in Saddar, over what the party termed as an “anti-Mohajir and anti-MQM campaign” being spearheaded by its television channel.
A statement issued by the MQM Rabita Committee accused the media group of "using notorious killers to spread false and fabricated reports against MQM to vilify it and distort the image of Mohajirs in the eyes of the people of Pakistan".
Referring to Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s statement, the committee claimed the statement was evidence of the fact that government agencies were funding the anti-MQM campaign. The committee appealed to people across Sindh to participate in the demonstration.
Provincial chapters of the party were also directed to hold protests in their respective provinces outside the local press clubs. The statement reiterated the MQM's support for freedom of the press, but asserted that no one should be allowed to defame a particular political party, community or a segment of the population.