HYDERABAD: Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s district leadership on Friday claimed that Pak Sarzameen Party’s activists barged into their office at Bhai Khan Ki Chari and ransacked it.

Reports from the locality suggested that the incident took place while PSP activists led by Syed Mustafa Kamal and Anis Kaimkhani passed by the MQM office.

According to MQM’s district organiser Zafar Siddiqui, some PSP activists including its divisional president Nadeem Qazi, Raees alias Raja and Naimatullah broke into the office and ransacked it. They raised slogans [against MQM], damaged the party’s election symbol, kite, and also disgraced a national flag, he alleged.

Incident took place amid ongoing campaign for CBH polls

Mr Siddiqui told a hurriedly called press conference that the aim of the attack was to intimidate MQM, which was busy electioneering for the Canton­­ment Board Hyderabad (CBH) polls.

He said only a few MQM activists were present at the office when it was attacked at around 5pm.

“PSP should not take MQM’s policy of peace as its weakness or cowardice,” he cautioned.

He regretted that it all happened in the presence of police mobile vans escorting the PSP leadership.

He said PSP knew that it had been rejected in the general elections and now they would be rejected in the CBH polls, too. That’s why they were venting their frustration, he added.

MQM MNAs Salahuddin and Sabir Kaimkhani, MPAs Rashid Khilji and Nasir Qureshi were also present at the press conference.

MQM also shared a video clip showing PSP activists Raees Raja, Sharjeel Kaimkhani, Naimatullah Qureshi and others raising slogans at the gate and stairs of the MQM office. It also shows PSP president Anis Kaimkhani arguing with MQM office-bearers and trying to control his party colleagues while a man is damaging MQM’s electoral symbol, kite, in an angry mood.

PSP spokesman Rizwan Gaddi in a statement said that MQM activists had pelted his party’s rally with stones at Bhai Khan Ki Chari and then PSP workers responded with slogans.

He alleged that MQM workers also tried to intercept Mustafa Kamal’s vehicle.

Earlier, the other night, a vehicle carrying Mustafa Kamal was intercepted while he was busy in PSP’s election campaign in Latifabad, Unit-12 — a CBH ward — Mr Gaddi claimed. He said Anis Kaimkhani restrained PSP activists from responding to MQM workers.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2021