KARACHI: A senior Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader on Monday said his party always supported Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan’s public meetings in Karachi despite having ideological differences with the PTI but now the latter wanted to “snatch MQM’s mandate for a second time at the behest of the establishment”.

“First time he [Mr Khan] tried to occupy Karachi with the support of the Taliban in the 2013 general elections and this time he is using the crutches of the establishment,” said MQM leader Kanwar Naveed Jamil, who is also the MQM’s candidate for the by-elections on a National Assembly seat (NA-246).

Speaking at a press conference at the MQM headquarters, he said some 600 party workers living in Federal B Area and Liaquatabad — the two areas that fall within the NA-246 constituency — had been taken into custody.

Terming the PTI “the political wing of the Taliban”, Mr Jamil said the people of Karachi knew what would happen to them if the Taliban political wing came to Karachi. He said differences between the political parties were not new but the swear words used by Mr Khan against his political opponents showed his real character. He said that those using swear words against the MQM leadership were themselves involved in the attack on Pakistan Television in Islamabad.

Accompanied by MQM leaders Wasim Akhtar, MNA Asif Hasnain and others, the ex-Hyderabad nazim said Mr Khan should understand that he could not fool the people of Karachi by levelling such allegations.

He said MQM chief Altaf Hussain accepted the PTI announcement that it would contest the by-elections on NA-246. “Imran Khan called people of Karachi zinda lashain in his Azad Kashmir public meeting and now he is making false promises to the people just to occupy Karachi,” Mr Jamil said.

He said Mr Khan’s party was trying to make inroads in Karachi at the behest of the establishment. He said the MQM won all the four by-elections in Karachi after the 2013 elections. “Army troops were present inside the polling stations in the by-elections but we won them and candidates of the PTI had lost,” he added.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2015

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