KARACHI: For the first time in its 34-year history, two events to commemorate the foundation day of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement were held in the city on a same day but at different venues by as many factions on Sunday.

However, both the factions of the MQM-Pakistan — the PIB group led by Dr Farooq Sattar and Bahadurabad group led by Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui — expressed their regret for holding two events and also hoped that they would go into the upcoming next general election from one platform.

Also, as an unannounced ban on the political activities of the Altaf Hussain-led MQM, or the MQM-London, has been imposed by the powers that be, a heavy contingent of law enforcement agencies deployed on roads leading to the Jinnah Ground to bar Mr Hussain’s loyalists to pay their respect at the ‘Yadgar-i-Shuhda’, or the ‘Martyrs Monument’, there.

The MQM-L had a day before held its foundation day event in London.

The PIB faction of the MQM-P held their event on the Liaquatabad flyover and the Bahadurabad group organised a public meeting at Karachi’s historic Nishtar Park to mark the 34th foundation day.

Leaders of the both factions in their speeches blamed each other for the split in the party.

While senior leaders, Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar and Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Khwaja Izhar attended the Nishtar Park event, parents of the slain MQM ideologue Dr Imran Farooq, parliamentary party leader in the Sindh Assembly Sardar Ahmed and others were present at Liaquatabad flyover in the PIB group show.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sattar announced launching a campaign for the upcoming general election and said that the party would start a membership drive on April 2.

He said he had parted ways with London-based Hussain for the sake of the Constitution of Pakistan. However, he lamented that conspiracies had not stopped at the “minus one” formula, but “there is a minus MQM formula”.

He said that both MQM-P factions should work together for the solution of civic problems and against the census results, gerrymandering, quota system, etc, as he was ready to work with Bahadurabad group’s convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.

In his speech at the Nishtar Park, Dr Siddiqui told Dr Sattar that the organisation was bigger than any personality and he should instead of imposing conditions return to the party and work in accordance with its constitution.

Criticising Kamran Tessori, he said he was a personal friend of Dr Sattar and not a party worker and the party split into two groups because of him.

He said it was Dr Sattar who divided the party by holding a foundation day event at a different place.

Speaking on the occasion, senior leader Amir Khan criticised the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz for not fulfilling its promises. “We will not vote for you if you don’t fulfil your promises,” he said in the context of the recent election for the Senate chairman in which the party refused to give vote for the PML-N’s Raja Zafarul Haq.

He said the MQM would remain united and it would contest election from a single platform.

Resolutions at Nishtar Park

The participants of the meeting rejected “rigging” in the population census of the urban areas of Sindh and demanded that correct figures be released after having an audit of five per cent of the total census blocks.

They also rejected the recently passed Sindh universities law through which the provincial government took control of the public sector universities.

The meeting also demanded the Sindh government that lifting and disposal of garbage in Karachi was its responsibility and it must fulfil it.

It also demanded that all “missing” workers of the party be recovered forthwith and those incarcerated on “false” cases be released.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2018