MQM second-in-command vows to disown him a day after his speech led to violence in Karachi.
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MQM activists clashed with police and ransacked a private television station in the southern port city Monday leaving at least one man dead and seven others injured.
Paramilitary Rangers forces sealed the MQM headquarters and media office on Tuesday.
The violence erupted soon after Altaf Hussain, gave a telephone address to his supporters in which he castigated the media for not giving due coverage to his workers. “We believe that democracies become stronger by allowing free expression from diverse voices within society and we would certainly emphasise that any expression must be peaceful”, State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner said yesterday.
Paramilitary troops detained MQM leaders and sealed its offices, extending a crackdown that began in 2013 as security forces sought to restore order in a city that generates nearly half of Pakistan’s revenue.
He alleged the MQM chief was using British land to provoke hostility in Pakistan. He said that cases of arson, attack on ARY office, gherao and pelting stones on police have been registered against MQM. The protesters accused the media of failing to cover a hunger strike protesting the recent arrest of party members. “We can’t tolerate any word against Pakistan nor spare anyone who speaks against it”, he said in a statement from Islamabad late Monday.
On Tuesday, one of the MQM’s senior-most leaders, Farooq Sattar, seemed to imply that Hussain’s role would be diminished in the near future. He said it would be better for MQM to operate from Pakistan until Altaf Hussain’s health issues are not resolved.
MQM spokesperson Wasay Jalil, shared the apology statement by Hussain on Twitter. He stated that the children of the mohajir community had great affection towards Pakistan and the tone being used by MQM chief in his speeches was not used anywhere in the world.
Mr Hussain is known for his fiery addresses to his supporters in Karachi though a loudspeaker connected to a telephone in his London home.
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Analysts said the outcome of Akhtar’s election was a foregone conclusion as the MQM, headed by Altaf Hussain, living in self-exile in Edgware in London since 1992, holds an overwhelming majority in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, which will elect the mayor. The MQM aims to represent descendants of Muslims who moved from India to Pakistan after their independence from Britain in 1947.
