- Reports say Establishment supporting MQM-Haqiqi leader Afaq Ahmed to reactivate his party in Karachi
- MQM lawmakers cancel scheduled meeting with Nisar, feeling that since chief had already taken decision, there was no option left
The decision to submit en-bloc resignations from both houses of the parliament and Sindh Assembly by the lawmakers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was made in haste by the party chief Altaf Hussain without any consultation at any level amid fears of formation of a rebel group within the party ranks, Pakistan Today has learnt on authority.
Well-placed sources in the MQM have confirmed that the “knee-jerk decision” was taken by Hussain after the London Secretariat of the MQM received information from Karachi and Hyderabad that party’s former leader Mustafa Kamal was back in the city and was in touch with some party’s inactive leaders to form a rebel group.
“Altaf Bhai wanted to send a clear message to the establishment that there is no one in the MQM who could challenge him. Moreover, he also wanted to test loyalties of MQM lawmakers and to reassert his authority,” an MQM leader said. He added that the information got credence after reports from Karachi that the Establishment was already supporting MQM-Haqiqi leader Afaq Ahmed, another rebel of the MQM, to reactivate his party in Karachi.
“Haqiqi leaders and workers are coming with the security of vehicles of Rangers and police and reopening the offices of Haqiqi which were sealed ten years ago. This all reflects that efforts are afoot to replace MQM with some fake parties who don’t have public support,” the MQM leader said.
The MQM leader said that the information coming from Karachi and Hyderabad had perturbed Hussain who summoned an emergent meeting of the party and told the lawmakers to tender resignations en-bloc.
“Yes, there was no consultation and it was an order from Bhai. All the party lawmakers supported it since the decision had already been taken without any consultation,” a senior leader of the MQM said on anonymity.
“The party lawmakers supported the decision as we wanted to show solidarity with the party leadership. Altaf Hussain Bhai is the last word on the fate of the MQM and he would remain the supremo. This is a message to the Establishment that all its efforts would go down the drain to create fissures in the MQM ranks,” added the MQM’s lawmaker.
MEETING WITH NISAR CANCELLED:
In the meanwhile, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government made all its efforts to help scuttle the resignation bid but the MQM lawmakers did not pay heed to it.
A federal minister told Pakistan Today that earlier in the day, soon after the information that the MQM lawmakers had been told to tender resignations from the assemblies, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq contacted Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan for advice due to the absence of the prime minister.
“Nisar immediately held a meeting with Sadiq and told him that he would handle the situation as the MQM lawmakers would attend a meeting with him at 2:30pm at Punjab House. He assured to remove apprehensions of the MQM delegation,” the source said. However, the MQM lawmakers decided to cancel the scheduled meeting with Nisar, feeling that since Hussain had already taken a decision, there was no option left for talks, sources said.
SADIQ, RABBANI RELUCTANT:
Moreover, the MQM lawmakers were advised by Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani and NA speaker to not tender resignations but both failed to convince the MQM lawmakers.
“During their separate meetings with Rabbani and Sadiq, the MQM lawmakers were asked not to go for extreme steps. Even Rabbani told the lawmakers it was a political blunder. But the MQM lawmakers were trying to prove their loyalties to the MQM chief,” a government source said.
The source said that it was Rabbani who refused to receive the resignations, asking the MQM senators to go and submit their resignations with the Senate Secretariat.
“Apparently, in a bid to delay the resignations’ acceptance, Rabbani told the lawmakers that the resignations would be processed by the Secretariat and not by him,” the source added.
On the contrary, the source added, Sadiq looked determined to move ahead with resignations. “Sadiq not only received the resignations, he also told the visitors that the resignations would be accepted. He also said goodbye to the MQM lawmakers,” the source said, adding that later Sadiq changed his tenor and delayed the process.
“A message was conveyed to Sadiq to withhold the process,” the source added.
MQM LAWMAKERS UPSET WITH ERRATIC, AUTOCRATIC DECISIONS:
Meanwhile, the MQM leaders feel that the party was being run in an undemocratic manner and most of the decisions taken by the party leadership were without any through consultation at any level.
While the Establishment is reportedly using “subversive tactics” to divide the party, there is a dire need for the MQM leadership to adopt a consultative process to foil the designs, sources said. However, it seems that Hussain and other leaders of his core team are feeling the heat, which triggered erratic and emotional decision-making which often bring public humiliation for the MQM, they added.
The MQM, during past five years, took around 12 summersaults by joining and leaving Sindh government. Moreover, Hussain also announced to quit the party leadership as many times but reversed his decisions within hours each time.
Moreover, party’s senior minds like Mohammad Anwar, Haider Abbas Rizvi, Wasim Akhtar, Babar Ghauri, Dr Farooq Sattar, Mustafa Kamal, Faisal Sabzwari, Anis Qaimkhwani, Hammad Siddiqui and many others were removed from their offices unceremoniously on Hussain’s orders.
