The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has decided to postpone its cleanliness drive, ‘Clean Karachi Campaign’, in the metropolis until an indefinite period of time due to “large-scale arrests” of its party workers.
“Taking cognisance of the arrest of several party leaders, workers and elected representatives the MQM has decided to temporarily postpone the cleanliness drive,” said a statement issued by the party late Monday night.
According to the communique, the decision was taken in an emergency meeting of the party’s Rabita Committee headed by its Convener Nadeem Nusrat in London.
Further, in one of his Twitter messages, the senior MQM leader claimed that his party was forced to stop the cleanliness drive which was launched earlier this month. “It’s unfortunate but no other choice was left,” the microblogging website’s message said.
Meanwhile, other party leaders also expressed disappointment over the arrests of party workers and subsequent postponement of the cleanliness campaign in the city.
The announcement came only a day after Rangers personnel arrested a senior MQM office-bearer from Karachi in a raid early Monday morning. “Rangers arrested MQM Rabita Committee Deputy Convener Shahid Pasha during a raid at his apartment in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar area of the metropolis,” a statement issued by the party said.
The MQM had kicked off its cleanliness drive in the city on March 10 by removing political and hateful graffiti sprayed on the walls, including those sprayed with party slogans.
As part of the campaign, the party’s mayor-nominee, Wasim Akhtar, had spray-painted a wall in Lines Area on which a party slogan was inscribed. “We will also erase wall-chalking and are starting by removing our own slogans,” he said.
The MQM had launched the campaign in all districts of the city with parliamentarians, Rabita Committee members and workers participating in a bid to clean the city.
During the drive, which was set to continue till the mayor and deputy mayor assume office, the party was seen cleaning the streets everyday from 9am to 5pm in different union councils (UCs) of the city.
