SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)
Karachi has been facing unnerving degree of terrorism since long and MQM is always termed as the party behind making Karachi a city of lights to the city of darks. Thus in view such allegations few days back rangers raided MQM’s headquarters and arrested its several notorious proclaimed offenders. A Rangers spokesman said a large cache of illegal weapons had been recovered in the “information-based operation” and that several “criminals” had also been arrested. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan confirmed that raid had been conducted on the basis of intelligence reports. MQM chief Altaf Hussain in his telephonic address to the party workers said that the raid on Nine-Zero and his sister’s house by Rangers was completely unjustified. But in the same breath he said that party workers or some wanted MQM activists should have stayed away from the MQM headquarters, quoting his example that he is away from Karachi for the last 25 years.
Keeping up with its traditions, the MQM gave a call for protest on Wednesday, and economic activity came to standstill in Karachi and other cities of Sindh. However, this time round the intensity of the shutter-down was not seen, as Altaf Hussain’s admission about presence of wanted persons in the vicinity of the MQM headquarters had confused MQM workers and leaders. Altaf Hussain in an interview with private TV channel, to a question from TV anchor also admitted that he is losing the grip over the party. In earlier address to his party workers, he had acknowledged that there were land grabbers and extortionists in the party, and wanted to get rid of them. It appears that those entrusted with the task of extortion and other criminal acts did not wish to share the booty with the party. Secondly, people of Karachi are fed up with the protests and shutter-down calls whenever action was taken against any unlawful activity of the MQM activists. There is a perception that Altaf Hussain’s halo is disappearing, and his party leaders are wary of shenanigans of their leader. Over the years, the MQM has made effective use of the strategy of being in the government and in the opposition simultaneously, as the MQM in the past was part of the coalition government in Sindh and an influential component of the political potpourri put in place in Islamabad. Waging a smear campaign against its opponents and limiting their physical ability to conduct political activities on the streets of Karachi had undermined the MQM’s claim of being a party of middle-class educated Pakistanis who want to challenge the feudal political culture and change the status quo. However, the party has been at loggerheads with every ethnic entity in the past. It has besieged Karachi and enslaved people. Though MQM claims that it is third political party in Pakistan, yet every citizen of Karachi and country knows well that how MQM garnered number of votes. This operation was very right step to restore peace in Karachi.
pakistan.shafaqna.com
