Lessons in jail: Alleged criminals in custody ditch MQM for PSP

Loyalty-switching process gained momentum after Anis Kaimkhani was sent to prison

KARACHI: Minhaj Qazi, a fugitive of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and once considered to be a think-tank within the party structure, has joined Mustafa Kamal-led Pak Sarzamin Party (PSP).

Qazi was recently indicted by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in the murder case of KESC (now K-Electric) managing-director Shahid Hamid. He is currently lodged in the Central Jail, Karachi.

“I was always a social worker and I will remain so,” revealed Qazi in a confessional video obtained by The Express Tribune.

“When Anis Kaimkhani was imprisoned and we met him, he informed us about his narrative for Karachi and Pakistan, then I along with Umair Siddiqui, Obaid and others thought it is better to join the PSP.”

Nearly 1,500 MQM workers have been arrested by paramilitary forces and police in different criminal cases over the course of the Karachi operation.



Nearly half of those detained workers have so far switched their loyalties to the PSP.

Besides Qazi, there are some other notorious players of the MQM — including Umair Siddiqui, Saeed Barham, Kashif David, Obaid alias K2 and Nadir Shah — who have been languishing in the Central Jail and have joined the PSP.

A source privy to the development told The Express Tribune that this process has gained momentum after PSP President Anis Kaimkhani was arrested and sent to the Central Jail.

“Since we launched a party, so far over 700 imprisoned workers have joined us (PSP),” confirmed PSP’s spokesperson Iftikhar Alam said.

“No matter who they are -- Minhaj Qazi, Obaid K2, etc… there is a need to rehabilitate or neutralise them like in Balochistan. But it does not mean that they (prisoners) would not face courts. They will definitely face the court process.”

Minhaj Qazi, the right-hand of Saulat Mirza, was arrested from Garden area in January this year.

Umair Siddiqui, a former sector in-charge of the MQM, was also arrested by Rangers in February last year. He was also accused of running a chain of target killers and killing over a hundred people.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2016.