Karachi
As the fallout from Altaf Hussain’s inflammatory August 22 anti-Pakistan speech continues, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Kanwar Naveed Jameel became the latest legislator to announce disassociation with the party’s founder, Geo News reported on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters after a hearing at an anti-terrorism court, Jameel, who is a serving MNA, asserted that he and other party workers were firmly with Dr Farooq Sattar, who seems to have emerged as the leader of the post-Altaf Muttahida.
“Together, we all will work to make MQM and Pakistan stronger under Farooq bhai's leadership”, he said, adding that, from now onwards, whatever policy was approved by Sattar would be the party’s only policy.
This past Saturday, Sattar had announced that the policies and decisions of the party in Pakistan were no longer linked to the party's founder and its offices in London.
He said that there was a need to draw a line now and that the line had been drawn on August 23. "We drew a line on August 23; the objective of drawing that line was that there is no link now between our decisions and London. From now on, our decision-making and policies are not linked to London,” said Sattar.
On August 22, MQM headquarters Nine Zero was sealed in Karachi after party workers turned to violence following directives by the party founder to surround the offices of Geo News, Samaa and ARY.
Prior to resorting to violence, MQM workers incited by Altaf also chanted anti-Pakistan slogans at their hunger strike camp established outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC).