Reinventing itself: MQM-London to start campaign to reclaim party

Campaign will also include a movement for a separate province, says party

KARACHI: After political and diplomatic means proved futile to pave an entry into the political arena, the pro-Altaf Hussain Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) - London has planned to wage a street struggle to reclaim the party and its assets from rival group, MQM-Pakistan, led by Farooq Sattar, The Express Tribune has learned.

The campaign will also include a movement for a separate province for Muhajirs, covering the urban areas of Sindh, including Karachi and Hyderabad.



"We will do our best to reclaim the political space that has been illegally taken away from us," said MQM-London Convener Nadeem Nusrat, who has been spearheading the party since its split in August last year.

On August 23, 2016, Sattar, head of MQM-Pakistan, addressed a press conference at the Karachi Press Club and announced that he was parting ways with party founder Altaf over a disagreement on their modus operandi, which often landed local leadership and workers in trouble.

Since the split, MQM-Pakistan has lost two by-elections in PS-127 in Malir and PS-114 to the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Unlike other parts of the city, such as District East and District Central, both these constituencies cover areas where the MQM does not have a stronghold. A segment of party workers believe that the MQM lost because of cutting ties with its founder.



On Sunday, shortly after the unofficial results declared PPP's Saeed Ghani victorious in the PS-114 by-polls with a lead of more than 5,000 votes over MQM-Pakistan's Kamran Tessori, Nusrat tweeted: "This is what happens when you betray your father. But who cares who won or lost. #Muhajirs need a legislative assembly for urban Sindh."

Although Tessori enjoyed the support of Muhajir Qaumi Movement - Haqiqi (MQM-H) chief Afaq Ahmed, the major hindrance he faced was the boycott of the polls by the MQM-London leadership. It is said that MQM-London supported Ghani, courtesy of some dialogue under way between them and PPP's top leadership through close aides.

"[MQM-Pakistan's] loss was due to our boycott appeal. Of course, there had to be a winner and incidentally it's the PPP," Nusrat commented on the by-polls results.



According to the MQM-London spearhead, his group believes that the membership of legislative assemblies has not gotten their voters what they deserve, such as job opportunities, right to education, healthcare and better living.

There are reports that MQM-London is planning to start their campaign for a separate Muhajir province this August, for which they are focusing on reuniting and strengthening their force on ground.

The party workers who had gone underground after the start of the targeted operation have resurfaced in their respective areas.