KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) dissident and former Karachi nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal’s “new party” grew to seven members on Monday when former MQM Rabita Committee member Advocate Anis Ahmed Khan joined Kamal’s movement.
Anis Ahmed who served as a member of the MQM’s Rabita Committee between 2003 and 2012 was sacked from his party post over “violation of organisational discipline”. Anis, who said he served with Altaf for 32 years, claimed to have left Pakistan in 1998. After leaving the MQM, he said he spent his time traveling and resting. “I mentally joined this group three years ago,” he said, adding he was waiting for the day “when the locks on people’s tongues would break and they would speak openly.”
“I left the MQM on May 19, 2013. I was among those who believed the wrong thing was happening… The international secretariat can attest to this. I said, ‘This is the final nail in the coffin. You have ruined your party’,” Anis said. Wishing MQM supremo Altaf Hussain well, he said: “I wish for Altaf to live a long life and see with his own eyes that the ground is crumbling beneath his feet,” he said. The former Rabita Committee member’s words echo the sentiments of former MQM heavyweight Raza Haroon, who in an earlier press conference slammed Altaf, saying the MQM chief was reason enough for party members to jump ship.
Haroon had said that whenever a dissident left the party, “they [the MQM] claim it is a conspiracy against them. No conspiracy is needed. You [Altaf] are more than enough.” Altaf should come before his workers, party members and “those who have sacrificed everything for him, who left their families for him, and who put everything on the line for him,” he said. “They fought the army, not caring they were fighting with their own army because this man had called on them.”
“We have fixed your shoes, wiped your tears, even wiped the sweat from your face,” Anis said. “We stood before you to protect you, but in return, what have you done for this nation?” he asked, addressing the MQM supremo. “There is no one to wipe your tears now. The same Anis advocate who at 3am responded to your call without a thought for his own safety is trying to help you understand that there is still time to fix this situation,” he said. “Let the Mohajir community decide for themselves who is good and bad. You are not fit to lead the Mohajir community anymore,” he said, addressing Altaf.
