Whose Pakistan, Taliban’s or Quaid’s: MQM postpones referendum

Decision taken during emergency meeting of the party called in London and Karachi simultaneously.

KARACHI:
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has postponed its referendum on what kind of Pakistan its citizens wanted to live in to November 14, Express News reported on Tuesday.

MQM chief Altaf Hussain had called on Pakistanis in his speech on October 14 to declare whether they wanted to live in a Pakistan run by the Taliban or the one that the Quaid-e-Azam had envisioned.

The decision of postponement was taken during an emergency meeting of the party called in London and Karachi simultaneously. In London, the meeting was presided by Hussain, while back in Karachi, the meeting was held by MQM’s Coordination Committee.


The MQM cited an international defence exhibition underway in Karachi as the reason for deferring the referendum.

According to the Coordination Committee, DG Rangers Rizwan Akhtar had requested the Governor of Sindh to postpone the referendum.

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan had earlier threatened the MQM after it announced that it will hold the referendum.

On Monday, a petition was filed in the Sindh High Court against the MQM’s referendum scheduled to be held on November 8. The respondents include the National Assembly speaker, Senate chairperson, Hussain and MQM Deputy Convener Dr Farooq Sattar.  The Sindh High Court’s division bench is expected to take up the petition on November 7.

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