After Jalil’s tweet, several lawmakers decide to part ways with MQM

A group of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) lawmakers decided to part ways with the party following a tweet by a London-based leader warning the Pakistan-based leadership that they wouldn’t accept minus-one formula, it emerged on Thursday.

MQM’s London-based leadership broke its silence following reports that party’s Pakistan-based leadership was planning to table a resolution in the National Assembly (NA) in which the party would condemn anti-state speeches of the founder and seek a ban on him.

Sources privy to the development told this scribe that MQM’s London-based leadership had smelled a rat in damage-control efforts of Deputy Convener Dr Farooq Sattar after founder Altaf Hussain’s August 22 anti-state speech. “Someone from party’s Pakistan-based setup leaked what sources claimed Sattar’s nefarious plan to sideline party’s founder-leader,” the sources claimed.

Earlier, Sattar had, while pointing an accusing finger at the MQM founder, accepted that “there was a problem,” and announced that the party should operate from Pakistan alone.

Following a tweet of Wasay Jalil that “Altaf Hussain is MQM and MQM is Altaf Hussain. We (MQMLondon) will not accept minus one formula on Altaf Hussain. We will not accept any resolution in NA”, Sattar was stopped from taking any decision on his own.

Another party source told Pakistan Today that Sattar was asked to clear his position in late night meeting of both Pakistan and Londonbased leaderships of the MQM.

“Sattar was asked to inform party’s London-based leaders that why Pakistan-based leaders were issuing statements about a resolution against Altaf Hussain in the NA,” the source added.

“Sattar was conveyed that he would not take any decision by himself and that he had failed to handle party affairs effectively,” the source maintained.

“We already believe that Sattar’s defiance is not real,” said an MQM legislature, adding, “We have warned Sattar that if he deceives us, then we will leave the party.”

“Now, we have to decide whether we should form our own group or to associate ourselves with other existing political forces,” he said.

The MQM leader skipped the question when asked about the number of like-minded members of the provincial and national legislatures.

When this scribe tried to reach Wasay Jalil for comments, he replied in a text message that he was in a meeting and would return the call when he gets free. However, he did not approach this scribe till the filing of this report.

When a member of MQM’s Coordination Committee (in Pakistan) Ameenul Haque was reached for comments, he claimed that Sattar would address the press in a couple of minutes and respond on all issues.