KARACHI, April 11: Upset about the inability of his party representatives to prevent the breakdown of law and order in the city on Wednesday – that left several people dead -- Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain announced on Friday that he could no more lead the party. However, MQM MNAs, MPAs, city nazim and other elected representatives, expressing their regret over the lapse, persuaded their party chief to pardon them and withdraw his decision.

Mr Hussain expressed his shock over the indifference of the party cadre towards his appeal on Wednesday to do their utmost to stop unbridled shooting and arson resorted to by “agents of conspirators”. Seven people were burnt alive when a building housing offices of some lawyers was set on fire. Several other buildings and vehicles were torched in the day-long violence that left another four persons dead and many others wounded on Wednesday.

The MQM chief’s decision to relinquish the party leadership in sheer disappointment came in a letter read out by deputy convener of the MQM coordination committee Dr Farooq Sattar, the party’s parliamentary leader in the National Assembly, at a gathering of party workers at its headquarters “Nine Zero” on Friday evening.

The statement quoted Mr Hussain as saying that he wanted the coordination committee to take charge of the party affairs and lead the party to restore and maintain complete peace in the city.

Later, Mr Hussain made a telephonic address minutes after Dr Farooq Sattar read out the statement at the jam-packed venue. Dr Sattar and Senator Babar Ghauri, representing the party cadre, conceded their failure to prevent the violence and, in a gesture of solidarity, announced that all the elected representatives would quit their posts if Mr Hussain did not reverse his decision to quit the party leadership. City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal was among the first to announce his resignation.

In his address to the workers, Mr Hussain said: “Being the largest party of the city, it was the responsibility of the MQM to maintain peace in the city. I am shocked and angry at the entire cadre because the coordination committee, the sectors and units, elected representatives and every worker failed to play his role in preventing the violence.”

He said that a rumour was circulated amid the violence that several lawyers belonging to the MQM legal aid committee were killed. “Public reaction was natural,” he said, adding that the MQM leaders in the city should have played their role in calming down the angry people and preventing any untoward incident.

He pointed out that five of the victims burnt alive in Tahir Plaza were either members or supporters of the MQM.

He urged the president, the prime minister, the Sindh governor and the chief minister to order a judicial inquiry to ascertain how many lawyers were killed in the Tahir Plaza incident.