In the wake of Akhtar-Kamal fiasco, MQM-P directs leaders to avoid uncalled-for remarks

Showing its displeasure at ‘uncalled-for’ remarks by some party leaders, including Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) Coordination Committee during a meeting on Sunday took several decisions regarding the party discipline and warned the party leaders against issuing unnecessary statements.

The meeting was chaired by the party convener and federal minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. Participants of the meeting discussed the political situation of the country and lamented political gimmicks of their rivals over Karachi’s civic issues.

Siddiqui said the MQM-P was known for its exemplary discipline and therefore the party leaders and workers should care about the party’s discipline at every forum.

The party’s senior deputy convener Aamir Khan, deputy convener and Karachi Mayor Akhtar, Kunwar Naveed Jamil, Nasreen Jalil, MNA Aminul Haque, and other members of the Coordination Committee attended the meeting.

Disapproving of the conduct of local government representatives of the party, especially the mayor, Siddiqui directed them to avoid issuing unnecessary remarks, strictly follow the party’s discipline and focus on resolving the civic issues of the city.

He also asked another Coordination Committee member Mehfooz Yar Khan to offer an explanation over a statement he issued to the media against Farogh Naseem, a federal minister belonging to the MQM-P.

A party leader who attended the meeting told The News on condition of anonymity that the party had faced embarrassment when the mayor announced on August 28 the appointment of the party’s arch-rival, Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Mustafa Kamal, as the project director for 90 days for the disposal of garbage from the metropolis, and then suspended the order in less than 24 hours.

“Akhtar took this decision as he had got emotional and did not consult with the party’s leadership,” said the MQM-P leader. “It caused humiliation and embarrassment to the party and disappointed the party’s workers and supporters.”

He said another party leader Khan had also issued a controversial statement during a television talk show about Naseem, stating that he was not the party’s minister and was taking directives from somewhere else.

He said the Coordination Committee held Akhtar and Khan accountable for their uncalled-for remarks and warned them to follow the party’s discipline.