Forces seal MQM headquarters after TV station attack

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 23 August 2016

Paramilitary forces have taken control of MQM's headquarters in Karachi after an attack on a TV station by party supporters. Five leaders have been detained amid rising tensions.

Summary

KARACHI - Paramilitary forces have sealed the headquarters of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in Karachi and detained five of its top leaders, after supporters of the party stormed the office of a television channel.

Supporters of MQM rushed to the office of ARY News Monday shortly after their leader Altaf Hussain, who lives in exile in London, had in a telephone address sharply criticized the Pakistani media for failing to report on his workers' recent hunger strikes. Crowds of MQM workers then attacked the television office, firing shots and smashing the premises.

They later clashed with police outside, leaving one person dead and several wounded. "We have sealed the MQM headquarters, their media office and (their) hostel, some weapons have also been recovered," Khurram Shahzad, the sector commander for the regional paramilitary Rangers force told reporters Tuesday. MQM said five of its leaders had been taken into custody.

Hussain is known for his fiery addresses to his supporters in Karachi though a loudspeaker connected to a telephone in his London home. His hold on parts of the sprawling and crime-ridden metropolis is so strong that he can bring entire areas to a standstill and disrupt life for millions in the city. In a statement issued from London, Hussain asked for forgiveness from the army and Rangers chiefs.

"From the depth of heart, I beg pardon from the Pakistani establishment," he said. "I was under severe mental stress over extra-judicial arrests and precarious condition of my workers sitting at hunger striking camp." Law enforcement agencies and its opponents accuse MQM of racketeering, abduction, torture and murder in its bid to maintain power.

The party, which denies any link to crime, has accused the Rangers of carrying out dozens of extra-judicial killings of its members since a crackdown on crime in Karachi in 2013. - Reuters

KEY POINTS:

• Paramilitary forces sealed MQM headquarters in Karachi.
• Five MQM leaders were detained after the attack on ARY News office.
• Supporters clashed with police, resulting in casualties.
• Altaf Hussain criticized media in a telephone address from London.
• MQM denies links to criminal activities despite allegations.