Frustrated by ongoing Rangers operation in Karachi, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)'s party leadership is said to be divided between the hawks and the doves. According to a senior member of MQM, who requested anonymity, those who remain firmly behind Altaf Hussian comprise parliamentarians of the party, and who feel that raising the issue in and outside the parliament would help the party come out of its current difficult situation.
The MQM wrote a letter to the United Nations on July 30, alleging that some of its party workers were being mistreated by the law enforcement agencies during the ongoing operation in Karachi. Members of the party told this correspondent that the letter was drafted after consultation within the parliamentarians of the party as they feel that raising the issue of maltreatment of workers would help increase pressure on the law enforcement agencies to stop the operation. "Some members in the party feel the operation is being carried out only against the MQM as criminal elements exist in other parties too," he said, adding the Rangers have so far taken no action against criminal elements in the ranks of Jamaat-e-Islami and other religio-political parties in Karachi.
Talking to Business Recorder, MQM senior leader Dr Farooq Sattar said that difference of opinion does not mean that there are two groups in the party or some members of the party are ready to quit the MQM. "Altaf Hussain is a binding force in the MQM and we all look to him for guidance in testing times," he said. Sattar said the MQM has been struggling to become a national party but some 'hidden forces' have always obstructed the party's campaigns in other parts of the country. "We are left with no option but to stick to the Mohajir politics when the state starts squeezing us under different pretexts," he said.
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