Protest against MQM held in London

Dawn reports that a protest was held against MQM by about 50 Britons of Pakistani origin outside the party’s offices.

The protest was in response to the recent violence in Karachi. “The MQM secretariat remained shut from inside throughout the demonstration,” said the paper.

Below are some extracts about the ‘mysterious’ party in the British media, following last years’ violent killings in Karachi:

Running Karachi - from London (Daily Telegraph)

“The man in charge of Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, was at his usual command-and-control post at the weekend: a sofa in north London…

His political addresses by telephone have been known to last up to four hours, while a Western diplomat in Pakistan described the MQM as “something out of Chicago - nobody leaves the party”…

When asked why Mr Hussain was not deported to Pakistan before he was granted citizenship, a British diplomat said: “He has not committed a crime on British soil.”

Mysterious world of a movement in exile (The Independent)

“Mr Hussain has been accused of directing attacks against political opponents while sitting in London. At the same time he forged a political alliance with General Pervez Musharraf and is said to be in regular telephone contact with the Pakistani leader. The party insists it is secular and liberal and in the forefront of the “war on terror” against Muslim fundamentalists.

MQM was accused of sparking the violence in Karachi in May when gunmen opened fire on supporters of the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry; 42 people were killed. The security forces were accused of standing by and allowing MQM members to carry out attacks. Mr Hussain, however, denied the charges, saying that his members were victims and pointing out that 13 of them have been killed. Dr Farooq Sattar, the head of the party in Pakistan, said: “There is a conspiracy against us.”

The rules change when dictators serve US interests (IMRAN KHAN) (The Guardian – Comment is Free)

“Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and even the US state department and the European Union have issued reports about the MQM’s terrorist activities. The only independent provincial assembly in Pakistan recently denounced the party as a “terrorist organisation”, and last weekend the conference of opposition parties jointly resolved to support the legal proceedings against Hussain.”