Abbas Town tragedy: MQM rescinds call for 'peaceful' strike

Calling off the strike does not mean that the MQM has reneged from its demands, says Raza Haroon.

KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) rescinded its previous call for a strike in Karachi against the government's inefficiency after the Abbas Town blast, Express News reported.

MQM Coordination Committee member Raza Haroon, while addressing a second press conference on Wednesday, said, "Upon hearing appeals made by traders, transporters, business owners, members of school associations and many others, the MQM has taken back its decision to keep businesses closed for an indefinite period of time."

Haroon reiterated that his party will continue their protest until their demands regarding the arrests of the perpetrators and compensation to the victims of the Abbas Town blast are met.

The MQM member reiterated that despite the cancellation of the strike call, the party had not compromised on its demands.

Afternoon strike call

Raza Haroon had said earlier, “After extensive negotiations and meetings, MQM has decided to observe a peaceful movement against the government’s inefficiency.”

Addressing a press conference in the afternoon, Raza Haroon said that MQM Chief Altaf Hussain had condemned the Abbas Town blast and had demanded the government arrest the terrorists involved within three days, otherwise, the MQM will observe a democratic protest.

"Although government promised immediate action, they did nothing except drama," he added.

Condemning the government’s incompetence, Haroon said that this protest movement will continue till government arrests the culprits responsible for the attack.

“We appeal to the people of Karachi to stay peaceful and support the peaceful protest," he said, before adding, "We request the people of Karachi, especially traders, factory owners, shop keepers, transporters and people belonging to other walks of life, to keep their businesses shut until the terrorists are arrested.”

He added that providing compensation to the victims of the attack and their rehabilitation was the responsibility of the government, but so far the government has done nothing except for promises, that were never kept.

Talking about the present situation of Karachi, he said that rumours are being spread in the city to spread panic. “We strongly condemn all such actions to sabotage our peaceful movement,” he said, referring to incidents of violence as the city shut down.

Understanding difficulty of businesses

Haroon said the MQM was cognisant of the pressure faced by the business community, traders and daily wage earners that strikes bring.

"They will face a lot of difficulty in the wake of these strikes; however, this is the only way to make the government realise and to stop the terrorism from spreading."

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