Back in town?: MQM-H graffiti springs up overnight in various areas

The party claims the graffiti was not meant to incite rivals but an effort to assert its presence.

KARACHI: After a long absence, the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi seems all set to make a comeback into the political arena. The graffiti and wall-chalking of the party’s slogans, which appeared overnight in different areas of the city, scream of the party’s attempts to stage a major comeback as one of the city’s major political parties.

The graffiti appeared on walls along some of the city’s busiest thoroughfares as well as those areas which were once strongholds of the MQM-H, including the II Chundrigar Road, Sharae Liaquat, MA Jinnah Road, Court Road, Landhi, Korangi, Lines Area, Super Highway and Northern Bypass. Among the various slogans painted on the walls, the most prominent ones were, ‘no-go areas khatam karo’, ‘Jeay Mohajir Jeay Afaq’, ‘Afaq ka Lashkar Allah-o-Akbar’ and ‘Karachi ko aslahay se pak karo.’



Leaders of the MQM-H were of the opinion that the purpose of the graffiti was to show the presence of the party and it was not meant to hurt anyone, especially the rival political party. “Since 11 years, our people have been unable to visit their homes,” said MQM-H spokesperson Khalid Hameedy, while talking to The Express Tribune. “Eid is near and we want to spend the auspicious occasion with our families after having spent 11 years in hiding.”

The spokesperson said that they wanted the government to realise the party’s presence and include them in future dialogues as one of the stakeholders. “We are holding meetings with the newly elected federal government from the past one month,” he explained. “Hopefully we would be in our home within a few weeks.”

Hameedy said that after the appearance of the graffiti, the party members were likely at risk of an attack by the rival group members but they would continue their efforts for what they believed to be the right cause.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2013.