KARACHI, May 16: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which had restricted its organisational activities across the country following the May 12 mayhem in Karachi, remained undecided on Wednesday about resumption of its nationwide normal functioning.

The MQM had closed down its all sector and unit offices across the country for an indefinite period to reportedly “foil the conspiracy to engineer ethnic riots” following the violent incidents of May 12.

“The coordination committee will soon review the overall situation to decide reopening of party offices throughout the country,” MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar told Dawn on Wednesday.

However, he did not give any timeline.

Other than the MQM International Secretariat in London and party’s headquarters Nine Zero in Azizabad, a few other offices in the country were functioning, but most MQM offices have been closed for the past four days.

Analysts said the opening of MQM offices in areas not dominated by its staunch supporters would be met with resistance if not downright hostility. These views were echoed by party sources who disclosed that the organisational activities across Sindh could be resumed any time but there were certain problems in the resumption of work in the NWFP, Punjab and Balochistan.

Dr Sattar, however, maintained that the party shut its offices across the country after miscreants torched and ransacked 27 offices in Karachi, three in the interior of Sindh and one in Quetta.

“We strictly adhere to the policy of peace and non-violence and do not want to react. Therefore, we closed down our offices.”

Dr Sattar said that nobody forced the MQM to close down its offices, which could have easily remained functional with the protection of law-enforcement agencies not only in Karachi but across the country.

“But in the event of an attack on an MQM office, the security agencies would have retaliated. This could have resulted in causalities and opposition parties would have blamed us,” he explained.

Dr Sattar stressed the need for dialogue among all political parties. “The blame-game should be stopped now. We have already demanded an independent inquiry into the incidents of May 12 and subsequent violent events and have left it to the opposition parties to decide whether they want a judicial inquiry or some other inquiry. But the findings of the inquiry should be accepted by all parties,” he added.

The sources said that the London-based leadership of the MQM was in constant contact with President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and both of them apparently assured the leadership that the functioning of the party would not be restricted anywhere in Pakistan.

“It was the MQM that supported President Musharraf in his tough time and now it is his turn to fulfil his promises,” said the party leader.