Babar Ghauri, Shamim Siddiqui, Amber Khan quit MQM-London

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leaders Babar Ghauri, Shamim Siddiqui and Amber Khan have resigned from the party citing differences with the leadership.

The former ministers, who are reportedly in the US for quite some time now, announced their decisions separately — one after another — and criticised the last year’s controversial speech of the MQM founder.

Ghauri said that the reason behind his resignation was personal and he was formally relieving himself from all party responsibilities.

In his talk, he specifically mentioned that he was part of the MQM-London and said that there was ‘only one MQM and that is it’.

The recent split has stirred a debate who the MQM actually belongs to, when politically it is Altaf Hussain’s and technically it is Farooq Sattar who is claiming its ownership, he explained.

Speaking about the recent political moves in Karachi between the MQM-Pakistan and Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), he said, “It is good for them if they unite.” He was of the view that political parties sharing a mutual interest may join hands in a bid to strengthen their struggle.

Shamim Siddiqui said that he was against the comments given by the MQM chief against the state. “My basic disagreement with the MQM-London was Altaf Hussain’s role during the August 22 incident,” he said.

Similarly, Amber Khan also detached herself from the party. Interestingly, she commented that the MQM-London and MQM-Pakistan were one, implying that the division was just a bluff.

Mustafa Azizabadi, who is MQM-London’s coordination committee member, told The News that it was the leaders’ discretion to stay with the party or not.

“Virtually Ghauri and Siddiqui were not with the party for long, however, Khan had recently become more active.”

Since these leaders were based in the US where — according to reports — the most lobbying was done by the MQM-London to muster international support, it appears that for them the campaign was not effective enough to secure political space on the ground.

Azizabadi said that the party’s working in the US, other offshore centres and in Pakistan was satisfactory; however, they faced difficulties with the authorities.

On Saturday, when workers and supporters of the MQM-London tried to reach the Yadgar-e-Shuhada in Azizabad, the law enforcement agencies met them with force in order to stop them. The MQM-London faces a blanket ban since the August 22 speech.