Tough times: MQM confident party will ‘emerge victorious’

Rabita committee accuse LEAs of unconstitutional operation against the party

KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is confident that the party will emerge victorious whether the mayoral elections are contested from within the jail or outside of it.

MQM Rabita Committee member Mehfooz Yar Khan said this while addressing a press conference on Tuesday. Other committee members Gulfraz Khattak, Saathi Ishaaq and Arif Khan were also present at the press conference, which was held at the party secretariat Khursheed Begum Memorial.

An operation has been going on against the MQM since 2013 in which scores of party workers have been arrested and shifted to unknown locations, said Mehfooz. He claimed that on Monday evening, the Sohrab Goth Fire Brigade Station was raided by law enforcement agencies and four employees were taken into custody.

This shows that the opponents are fearful of the success of the MQM's labour division in government institutions, Mehfooz added.



Saathi also reiterated the party's reservations and claimed that the ongoing operation in the city was solely targeted towards the MQM. He added that the Rangers, police and other law enforcement agencies were conducting an unconstitutional operation against the party.

Addressing the conference, Gulfraz said that during the operation, the MQM was being pushed against the wall and around 5,000 of its workers have been arrested till now.

Zehra, who is an MQM worker, said she too was a victim of the actions of the law enforcement agencies. She claimed that her son-in-law was arrested by law enforcement personnel, while on Monday night the law enforcement personnel also picked up her son, who studies in England. Appealing for justice, she said that the whereabouts of both these men are unknown.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2016.