Love for Altaf marked at 18 spots

MQM leaders, activists, supporters hold peaceful protests in Karachi

KARACHI:

A day after former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal's no-holds-barred conference against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain, party leaders and supporters took to the streets in his defence.

Their love and support for 'Altaf Bhai' was marked at 18 different locations in the city, such as Orangi Town, North Nazimabad, Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Landhi.

The protesters included men, women and children, stood on the side of the main roads so as to let vehicles pass by. They held placards saying 'Altaf humara leader [Altaf is our leader]', 'Sirf Altaf [Only Altaf]' and shouted slogans, such as 'Rehbar rehbar, Altaf humara rehbar [Leader, leader, Altaf is our leader]'.



Speaking to the media at the Hassan Square protest, mayor-nominee Wasim Akhtar spoke about Kamal's charged-up press conference. The studio seemed new but the script was old, he said, adding that the laboratory was old but the test tube was new. "We have been facing these types of allegations and conspiracies for many years but this won't defeat the struggle of Altaf Hussain or the MQM," he said.

The party rejected the 'minus-Altaf' formula, which refers to attempts being made allegedly to rid the MQM of its chief. MQM will never accept a party without him, he said.

"The protests show that Karachi belongs to MQM," said MQM Rabita Committee member Aminul Haque, who was protesting at Liaquatabad No. 10. "Irrespective of race and religion, people genuinely love Altaf Hussain."



He said that there seem to be some invisible forces behind Kamal but the MQM leaders are hopeful that peoples' mandate will be respected and that the MQM will not be pushed against the wall. He pointed out that the party has also received supportive messages via email and Facebook.

At Hassan Square, Rabia Sultana, an elected vice-chairperson of UC-26 in Gulshan town, spoke about Altaf's generosity. "It was Altaf Hussain who had made an [telephone] operator an MPA, a minister, a nazim and a senator," she said, referring to Kamal's earliest job as telephone operator at Nine Zero. Another female protester called the press conference a pre-planned propaganda that no one will believe. "We don't know Mustafa Kamal, we only know Altaf."

Protester Nayyar Firdous recalled the 1992 operation and how estranged MQM leader, Afaq Ahmed, also came to divide the party but the plans failed. If the party had been corrupt, how was the former nazim able to spend money on Karachi's development, she said, before vowing to stand up for the party chief at every stage. People who have no vote bank should not be highlighted on the media, she said.