Cleansing drive: MQM to be purged of ‘extortionists, land grabbers’

Altaf Hussain says those collecting ‘donations’, occupying flats, shops to lose membership.

KARACHI:

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain announced on Wednesday to purge the party of extortionists and land grabbers.

He said the process of cleansing undesirable elements from the MQM had commenced and the same would continue till all the unwanted persons were purged from the party.

There is a complete ban on collecting donations, he said talking to the members of MQM’s Coordination Committee via telephone at Nine Zero, the party’s headquarters.

Office bearers or workers of MQM found collecting donations will lose their membership.

He said MQM will maintain zero tolerance for land grabbing, occupation of flats and shops, and `China cutting’, a term that relates to encroaching on government land, cutting small plots, settling people on them and then getting them regularised.

In this regard, Altaf asked office-bearers and workers of the party to voluntarily resign from their posts as well as from the party’s membership if they were associated, whether directly or indirectly, with the business concerning sale and purchase of houses, flats and plots, otherwise basic membership of such people would be cancelled.

Elaborating, he said that although no one was allowed to remain engaged in contract business in the MQM, office-bearer or workers could remain associated with the profession after tendering their resignation from the post and membership of the party.

Declaring that the MQM was the party of the masses, Altaf Hussain said there was no room in the party for elements who become the cause of trouble for the people.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2013.