MQM rebranding a forced marriage, made for divorce: founder

LONDON: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader and founder Altaf Hussain has said that the reunification and rebranding of MQM splinter groups is artificial and a forced marriage bound to result into a bad divorce no matter what efforts are put to keep the warring groups together to stabilise the Muhajir vote.

After Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori brought together MQM-P's Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, MQM-F Dr Farooq Sattar and Pak Sarzameen Party Mustafa Kamal under the banner of MQM-Pakistan in the hope of uniting the Muhajir vote in Pakistan's biggest city once ruled unchallenged by Altaf Hussain from London, the MQM founder and leader Altaf Hussain welcomed the development for his politics and his continuing influence in the city amongst the Urdu-speaking communities.

During a court appearance at the London High Court, Altaf Hussain was asked about the unity of MQM groups in Karachi. He commented that efforts should be expedited by the establishment to bring together all the MQM groups into the MQM-Pakistan as this will expose the faces and characters of everyone before the Muhajir nation. I am thankful to those who have brought Farooq Sattar, Mustafa Kamal and Khalid Siddiqui and others together. The Muhajir nation can see what's happening and how the genuine leadership was removed by the use of force to create an artificial leadership.

At the same appearance, Hussain said MQM-Pakistan had launched a case against him at UK High Court to snatch nearly half-a-dozen properties from him. Those who used to call me their dad have betrayed their own father for the sake of money and power politics but they will not succeed.

Altaf Hussain said that he was overjoyed at the unification of MQM factions as this will help him direct his criticism towards one party rather than various factions, which was a confusing issue for everyone.

Altaf Hussain remains convinced that a large chunk of his following remains intact. His belief is based on the support he gets on social media where the MQM-Pakistan leaders can be seen being criticised by the MQM workers for not standing up for MQM founder. Altaf Hussain loyalists in London run several WhatsApp groups where they get messages of support from Karachi and Hyderabad on daily basis. In several recent elections in the city, Altaf Hussain issued boycott calls and local journalists reported that there was a low turnout in areas where Hussain's support remains and it's in those areas that MQM-Pakistan candidates suffered the most.

Two senior leaders of the MQM-Pakistan, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Altaf Hussain's supporters had disappeared after the crackdown but resurfaced in the last few months. They said the MQM workers had asked them questions about the wisdom of going against Altaf Hussain and why the MQM-Pakistan didn't stand for Altaf the way supporters of Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan stood by them in difficult times. They said Altaf Hussain factor cannot be removed from Karachi unless MQM is able to deliver services for the local communities.