This effectively meant sidelining the MQM supreme leader Altaf Hussain and his London Committee, although Farooq Sattar and other MQM leaders cautiously tried to “balance” the distancing from the supremo with ritual declarations of Altaf Husain still being the leader of the party. Police have declared a high alert in Karachi.
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KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) Pakistan’s paramilitary troops shuttered the offices of a political party Tuesday after overnight clashes in Karachi left one person dead and eight wounded, officials said.
To demand the arrest and prosecution of Altaf Hussain for inciting violence in Pakistan, World Congress of Overseas Pakistanis (WCOP) organised a protest outside 10 Downing Street to demand intervention by the British Prime Minister Theresa May.
Early on Wednesday, Akhtar arrived in an armoured police vehicle at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation building to vote in elections that give MQM, which has dominated politics and commerce in Karachi for decades, an unassailable lead.
Khalid Mahmood, who chairs Tackling Terrorism All-Party Parliamentary Group in the British parliament, called on the British government to take urgent action against Altaf Hussain.
MQM officials have said they will ask authorities to provide him with a well-furnished office.
“From the depth of heart, I beg pardon from my remarks against Pakistan, the establishment including Gen Raheel Sharif and DG Rangers”, he said in a statement posted on Twitter by an MQM spokesman.
A police officer Qamar Asif said almost 2000 activists of the Mutahida Qaumi Movement or MQM stormed the office of private ARY TV channel and nearby shops.
Meanwhile, MQM deputy convener Farooq Sattar and other party leaders have denounced anti-Pakistan slogans and attack on media houses.
Pakistani civil society activists carry placards as they shout slogans against Altaf Hussain.
Hussain remains a highly influential figure in Karachi, Pakistan’s economic centre and main port, though observers believe his grip on power is gradually diminishing in his absence and his party is no longer the force it once was.
“This was for the first time in 25 years that Karachi was not held hostage”. Several provincial assemblies have passed resolutions against the MQM, with politicians calling Hussain a “traitor”. Sattar accepted that “there is a problem” and that Hussain’s frequent apologies after incendiary statements is an issue that needs to be resolved.
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Sattar accused Hussain of repeatedly embarrassing the party saying, “We have made a decision to address his mental tension, illness or whatever condition he is suffering from”.
