Former federal ministers and members of the London faction of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Babar Ghauri and Shamim Siddiqui, announced on Sunday their resignation from the Altaf Hussain-led party.

Ghauri, while speaking to DawnNews, confirmed that he was resigning from the MQM-L for personal reasons. He explained that he was not doing so as part of any deal or under any duress, adding that he had decided not to join any other political party, and would stay away from politics for the time being.

He said that the mohajir community is facing difficult times and would need to unite face the challenges.

Shamim Siddiqui said his resignation came as a result of disagreements over the MQM-L policy following an incendiary speech by Altaf Hussain on August 22, 2016

The MQM founder has been in trouble since his diatribe against the armed forces in last year, after which his party members distanced themselves from him and gathered under the leadership of Farooq Sattar to form a separate faction, the MQM-Pakistan.

Hussain has already been deserted by Nadeem Nusrat, Wasay Jalil, Inbisat Malik and Zulfiqar Haider.

Earlier, workers and supporters of MQM-L were baton-charged and arrested on Saturday when they attempted to pay respects at Yadgar-i-Shuhada — a monument built in memory of MQM activists killed over the years.

The coordination committee of the party criticised the police action and deplored that the government, army, Rangers and police allowed “religious extremists to hold Islamabad hostage, but they were stopping us from even offering Fateha at the graves of our martyrs”.