During the 1992 violence Altaf Hussain left the country when a warrant was issued for him in connection with a murder. Since then, the MQM is run by Altaf Hussain from self-imposed exile in London.
According to Altaf Hussain, over fifteen thousand MQM workers have been killed extra-judicially since the start of the operation against the Mohajirs and the MQM on 19th June 1992 to this date.
The latest anti-MQM operation by army was launched in September 2013. Since then 68 Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) supporters have been killed extra-judicially and 1600 injured.
At least 135 MQM supporters are missing while 1600 others are in jail, according to Mohammad Wassay Jalil. He says 7,000 houses were raided in the brutal operation launched in September 2013.
Wassay Jalil was visiting Fremont as part of his tour to the United States which includes Chicago, New York and Washington DC. The MQM USA has 21 chapters: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Connecticut, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Hawaii, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Louis, Washington D.C.
On September 22, Altaf Hussain appointed Nadeem Nusrat as Convenor of the MQM to reorganize the party in the wake of formation of rival MQM-Pakistan by Farooq Sattar. Convenor Nadeem Nusrat, in a statement published by MQM UK, said that step are being taken by a few member under the pretext of saving the party which, is not in the interest of the party and the Mohajir nation, in any way which, is spreading confusion and despondency amongst the workers and people throughout the country, every passing day.
Under the circumstances, he said, that the Central Coordination Committee, organizational structure and all the wings of the MQM have been dissolved and the Central Coordination Committee and all the wings would be formed afresh and he has been empowered by Altaf Hussain to make such changes. He said that Altaf Hussain has asked the workers and supporters to abide by these decisions and maintain unity in their rank and file.
Nadeem Nusrat rhetorically asked that who would answer for the extrajudicial executions of 68 workers of the MQM during the on-going operation, where is the demand for the recovery of 135 "Disappeared" workers in the current Operation?
The Diplomat
As brutal military operation continues against MQM, a Japanese paper The Diplomat commented that in the past the anti-MQM operations ended in more mass support for the party. The paper pointed out:
"The military's consistent efforts to divide the party from within have always resulted in more support for the party from Mohajirs, refugees who settled in Karachi and the surrounding districts at the time of partition. During the 1992 military operation in Karachi, the military is known to have patronized a number of MQM's dissident lawmakers to weaken the party: the MQM (Haqiqi) faction was the result of the split in the party that occurred in the early 1990s. The latest split has come in the form of Pak Sarzemeen Party (PSP), which was formed earlier this year by MQM's former Karachi Mayor, Mustafa Kamal.
"Despite publicly brandishing the organization as a movement openly involved in anti-state activities, the military has failed in breaking the party's vote bank. The party stood as an undisputed winner in the last year's local government elections in Sindh's urban areas while it also came out on top in this year's by elections in Karachi, the Diplomat said adding: "The reason behind this solid support for the party's leadership is simple: the military's so called counterterrorism operation in Karachi has only deepened the persecution of Mohajir community, which the party's leadership has successfully been able to appeal to in order to maintain its political support base."
"The Japanese paper was of the view that bulldozing the party's offices and banning it from the national media will not alleviate the concerns of Mohajir community, whose growing isolation from the state is the direct result of the military's series of crackdowns against the MQM's leadership and workers alike; rather, such actions will further strengthen the party's narrative of marginalization and victimhood.
"Above all, quick fixes will not resolve the issue of Karachi's security. The city's genuine political leadership should be allowed to work unhindered, for any further securitization of Pakistan's largest city will only push it into an uncertain political and security vacuum," the Diplomat concluded.
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