Imran Khan And Altaf Hussain Face Off Again

Things don’t seem to be going in favor of MQM in the recent days. Day after day there are incidents taking place in which MQM party leaders and workers end up blemishing the image of the party. By-elections that will take for NA-246 are going to decide the fate of the people of Azizabad. The point to mention here is that MQM has been the major ruling party in the region for past 20 years. In fact, Azizabad has been considered the stronghold of the party for past 2 decades. Recent happenings are not good for MQM though.

The by-elections are being fought because Nabil Gabol has left the seat vacant after winning from the constituency in the elections of 2013 holding MQM’s ticket. PTI has been ever determinant that Azizabad wants change and so PTI’s candidate will win in this constituency by a big margin. Recent incidents that have taken place in Karachi have already made MQM appear as a very weak party and one losing its force with time. PTI is running its campaign with much power and it seems that the workers of the party in competition has succumbed to the pressure and started taking kid-like measures.

A PTI camp in Karimabad meant to support the party’s position in the coming by-elections was attacked by several MQM workers. The workers were furious and they started to disrespect the PTI workers in the camp. They further burned the flags and rampaged for as long as they could. This, however, did not budge PTI workers from their position and a tug-o-war started between the two parties’ workers. They started shouting at each other, chanting slogans and pushing each other. The police intervened but the party workers were not ready to retreat and the scuffle continued for a couple of hours.

The leaders of both the parties then reacted to the incident. Imran Khan, the leader of PTI, said that such acts were only exposing the true nature of MQM more. He said that the leaders of the current ruling party of Karachi have always resorted to violence to keep the voice of the people down. He said the incident of Karimabad was a speaking proof of how MQM operates in the city. He called the workers of the attacking party Nazi. He said that this matter too will be taken to British government to show what the reality of MQM and Altaf Hussain is.

He further expressed that such acts from the opposing party have only made him and his party workers more determined for the by-election campaign. He shared his views and feelings about the incident on Twitter with his followers. The general secretary of PTI, Jahangir Tareen, said that the attack on PTI camp was part of the planning from MQM. He further added that this would not stop the workers for PTI from hoisting the flag in Karimabad. Imran Khan, the leader of PTI, is scheduled to hoist the flag in Karimabad on 3 different days before the by-elections.

Lastly, MQM leader Altaf Hussain has condemned the act of his workers in Karimabad. He came on live TV and strictly ordered the workers to avoid any such acts and let others do their job. However, right after saying this he said that MQM workers were not involved in the incident at all. This was quite a bit of surprise for people. Imran Khan said that first attacking PTI camps and then doing press conferences right after the incident will not prove that MQM workers and party leaders are innocent. All PTI workers believe they will win the by-elections in Azizabad.