Suspends London Rabita Committee, then promptly reinstates it
Suspension of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)’s London Rabita Committee by its chief Altaf Hussain on Friday caused uncertainty in the party’s decision making body here, as did the decision to reinstate it hours later.
Silence prevailed in MQM circles following the suspension of London Rabita Committee by the party’s supremo and the party’s office-bearers in Pakistan held separate meetings to discuss the surprise decision of the party’s chief.
An announcement appeared on MQM’s official website on Friday evening which carried the headline ‘London Rabita Committee disbanded with immediate effect’.
“MQM founder leader Altaf Hussain disbanded party’s international secretariat Coordination Committee with immediate effect and appointed Manzoor Ahmed for correspondence,” the announcement read.
“The office-bearers and workers are informed to coordinate with Manzoor Ahmed instead of the Coordination Committee, including Nadeem Nusrat,” it added.
Hours later, however, the announcement was changed to: “MQM leader Altaf Hussain has reinstated the London Coordination Committee members with immediate effect. Nadeem Nusrat will continue to hold his convener’s post.”
Earlier in July last year, the MQM chief suspended Karachi Coordination Committee sparing Kaiful Warah, Abdul Haseeb and Arif Khan. In February 2015, the heads of both the coordination committees were suspended.
The recent suspension triggered uncertainty among office-bearers and workers of the party. Questions abounded about why the party chief had suspended the London leadership of the party again.
The situation was not helped by the fact that nobody knew who Manzoor Ahmed was and where he had come from. The activists and office-bearers alike were in the dark regarding the newly-appointed head of the London’s decision making body. But before these questions could be answered, it was announced that the decision had been reversed.
To find out what was going on, Pakistan Today made contacts with the party leaders but they refused to comment on the development.
Behind closed doors, however, the party officials started evaluating their overall performance and began brainstorming with their fellow members to improve it.
Before the decision was announced to reinstate the London Rabita Committee, party officials discussed the possible reasons that led to the sudden change at the key London post. They also exchanged views on possibility of a similar change in Karachi’s Coordination Committee.
When MQM’s Coordination Committee member Ameenul Haque was initially contacted, he excused himself saying that he was in a meeting of the party’s local leaders. Later, when he was contacted again, the MQM leader replied via text message: “Sorry, I can’t talk right now”.
While in theory, the party stood at the exact same spot vis a vis its London and local leadership, party officials may have received a glimpse into the tectonic shifts going on deep within the party.