MQM dumps Altaf Hussain under ‘minus one formula’
MQM dumps Altaf Hussain under ‘minus one formula’
Editorial
Editorial

There were clear indications from day one that the MQM hunger strike camp will not remain peaceful for long and the MQM activists will lose patience on instructions or otherwise, and they will turn violent on slight instigation and it proved correct. No other person, but the MQM Supremo himself provoked them to go and attack media houses of which he named some of the media houses in his speech.

There were clear indications from day one that the MQM hunger strike camp will not remain peaceful for long and the MQM activists will lose patience on instructions or otherwise, and they will turn violent on slight instigation and it proved correct. No other person, but the MQM Supremo himself provoked them to go and attack media houses of which he named some of the media houses in his speech. Suddenly more than two thousand MQM workers attacked the ARY News Bureau in Karachi and ransacked it. They disarmed the guards, snatched their rifles and manhandled the ARY staff present at the office. On their way to the targeted area in Saddar, they burnt down a police van and a motorcycle of the Traffic Police officer. A score of policemen were caught and beaten up by the unruly mob. The TV footage had shown that women activists in large number attacking policemen inflicting injuries on some of them. One of the persons was killed as he received a bullet wound and 12 others sustained injuries, hospital sources confirmed. The trouble continued in Karachi for several hours disrupting normal public life causing massive traffic jams in commercial district of Karachi city.

Altaf Hussain did provoke the trouble by asking his audience to raise slogans against Pakistan and instigated the people to go and attack the media houses. At this stage, most of the journalists took cover and kept themselves away from the unruly mob as Altaf Hussain had turned the crowd violent against the media and media persons. Some of them came under attack and sustained injuries, with one or two persons had bone fractures. During the violence, one of the men was found dead after receiving a bullet wound. Around 12 people, including policemen, sustained injuries in the clashes. Some of the shops in Saddar area were attacked and ransacked as the mob wanted the shopkeepers to close their business. On refusal, some of them came under attack. Police lobbed teargas shells in order to disperse the unruly mob gathered in Saddar area near the Governor’s House and the Karachi Press Club. There was hide-and-seek between the police and the MQM activists till late in the afternoon. But it remained confined to the localized area where the trouble started near the Karachi Press Club. Later in the night, the Rangers disallowed Dr Farooq Sattar to address a news conference on the situation in Karachi. Rangers arrested him and Opposition Leader in the Sindh Assembly, Mr. Izharul Hassan, and took them to an unknown place. However, late in the night, Dr Farooq Sattar was allowed to go home. In the afternoon, they dissociated from the London Office dumping Altaf Hussain in isolation by applying minus one formula.

Meanwhile, the local police had registered a treason case against Mr. Altaf Hussain and others. The case was registered at the Artillery Maidan Police Station overlooking the Governor’s House. There were indications that the Government is intending to move a reference against the MQM seeking a ban on the MQM, the second largest party in Sindh, for its anti-Pakistan role. But the people had changed their opinion once Farooq Sattar and other top MQM leaders dissociated themselves from Altaf Hussain renaming the Party as MQM, Pakistan, saying that all the MQM decisions will be taken in Pakistan in future and Altaf Hussain will not be able to dictate his politics on workers belonging to MQM Pakistan. There is also a move that the Government may seek repatriation of Altaf Hussain to face treason case and also the Dr Imran Farooq Murder case as most of the main accused persons are in custody here in Pakistan. Thus Altaf Hussain should also face both the cases of treason and Dr Imran Farooq Murder Case in Pakistan in the interest of justice. Pakistan had refused to hand over the other accused to Britain rather it is a better proposal that Altaf Hussain should be repatriated to Pakistan at the earliest for speedy trial and administration of justice at the earliest.