Tug of war: Muttahida MNA defects to Mustafa Kamal’s party

Asif Hasnain also gives up his National Assembly seat

KARACHI: A federal lawmaker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement relinquished his parliamentary seat on Sunday to join the party of former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal, predicating that many more will defect to the Pakistan Sarzameen Party (PSP) in the days to come. However, the MQM claims that the defectors would return to the party’s fold.

“From now on, I will have no connection with the MQM. I also resign my National Assembly seat,” MNA Asif Hasnain told a news conference where he was flanked by PSP Chairman Mustafa Kamal and other leaders of the party.



“I’ve given up MQM’s mandate because I want to work for Pakistan -- and not against it,” said Hasnain, who was elected to the National Assembly from NA-255 in the 2013 parliamentary elections. The defection came a day after MQM publicly disowned party supremo Altaf Hussain over his allegedly seditious remarks in a telephone speech on August 22.

Hasnain doubted the MQM 

could disown Altaf. “Farooq Sattar is not capable of disconnecting himself from London and Altaf,” he said. “Who had given the suggestion to split the London and Karachi coordination committees,” he said, hinting that Sattar received ‘instructions’ over Skype from Altaf as party members conferred at a local hotel prior to Tuesday’s press conference where Sattar had announced sidelining Altaf and London office.

PSP Chairman Kamal was also critical of Sattar’s announcement that the MQM had ‘completely dissociated’ itself from the party’s London-based supremo and said he was trying to save the founder of the MQM. “[Sattar] is lying that he will now make decisions of the party. He is still in touch with Altaf Hussain and acting on his instructions.”

Kamal said it was a ‘fixed match’ as there was an understanding between Sattar and Altaf. “Altaf is delivering speeches across the world... Sattar said he was resting, but he is making more phone calls than Sattar is,” he claimed. “We know Altaf’s DNA well. As long as he is alive, he will not let anyone else to lead his party. He got killed whoever was capable of doing so,” Kamal alleged. “He got Azeem Tariq killed. He got Imran Farooq killed.”

The PSP chairman claimed that Sattar was escorted by security guards everywhere and slept in a hotel since he has publicly disowned Altaf and London office. “Who is he hiding from? The Taliban? No. He is hiding from Altaf,” he added. “People who are still part of the MQM are there because they are trying to save their jobs.”



Kamal invited others to join the party. “If you have a problem with Altaf, leave the mandate. It is not your mandate, it is his mandate,” he said.

The PSP chairman said those who say the MQM should remain part of the political system must realise that Altaf gave the August 22 speech in his capacity as the party chief. He predicted that whosoever tried to save the “falling wall of the MQM will be buried under its debris”.

Kamal also questioned the government’s reluctance to take action against Altaf, who is a British citizen. The government says it has approached British authorities with evidence of how Altaf incited people in Karachi to violence and delivered seditious speeches.

In a knee-jerk reaction, MQM’s Dr Farooq Sattar said those who had defected to the PSP would return to the party. “Now, the wheel will turn the other way around and those who deserted the party will soon re-join its ranks,” he told journalists outside his residence in PIB Colony.

Sattar claimed that every MQM worker was standing behind the party. He said the party would show its strength in September for which he has issued necessary directives to party leaders and workers to contact people. He alleged that workers were being ‘forcibly’ taken away and said the custodial death of senior party worker Mahmood Khan was a testimony to oppression against the MQM.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2016.