Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Founder Altaf Hussain has asked his devotees to boycott Karachi and Hyderabad Local Government (LG) polls scheduled for January 15.
In a new statement, Altaf Hussain announced to boycott the upcoming phase of LG polls in Karachi and Hyderabad scheduled by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
ایم کیو ایم کے قائد الطاف حسین کا کراچی میں بلدیاتی انتخابات کے بائیکاٹ کا اعلان ۔ کیا اس اعلان کا اثر ایم کیو ایم پاکستان کے ووٹ بینک پر پڑ سکتا ہے؟ pic.twitter.com/SdyX6xyGSG
— Naimat Khan (@NKMalazai) November 29, 2022
He said that his devotees should prove their loyalty to him by boycotting the LG polls.
The announcement came at a time when Hussain is going to face a legal battle in the UK court by former MQM London central leaders claiming the ownership of seven London properties for the MQM Pakistan faction.
Hussain put faith in his legal team to face the legal battle in the UK court and claimed that he still has the support of thousands of MQM workers.
Ghabrana nahi hai, says @AltafHussain_90 at the start of trial brought against his 7 london properties by his former devotees now assembled in MQM-Pakistan pic.twitter.com/RN9sDfCuYD
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) November 28, 2022
It emerged that Hussain’s former close aide Nadeem Nusrat appeared before the UK court to give his position that 7 London properties do not belong to MQM-London or MQM-Pakistan but to the families of MQM martyrs. Hussain will give his evidence later, said Geo News reporter Murtaza Ali Shah.
Once chief lieutenant of Altaf Hussain, @nadeem_nusrat appears before UK High Court to give his position that 7 London properties don’t belong to MQM-London or MQM-Pakistan but to the families of MQM martyrs. @AltafHussain_90 will give his evidence later pic.twitter.com/3RThc1zhWC
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) November 28, 2022
On the other hand, MQM Pakistan rejected rumours about boycotting local government (LG) polls.
Is PML-N paving way to bring back MQM founder Altaf Hussain to politics?
In a statement, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan termed the rumours about boycotting local government (LG) elections ‘baseless’.
“It is an unethical act to damage the reputation of a political party by spreading false news for its own benefit,” the MQM-P said, adding that it will actively participate in LG elections.
The party further said that its workers and supporters across Sindh were busy preparing for local body polls.
London properties case: Is MQM founder Altaf Hussain going to be homeless?
Analysts questioned on what basis MQM founder Altaf Hussain claimed to boycott the LG polls and who are the elements behind giving him hype in national politics. They said it would be another test case for MQM Pakistan to prove its political power in its strongholds following Hussain’s announcement after facing back-to-back failures in the electoral contests earlier.
A few days ago, banners in the favour of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Founder Altaf Hussain sprang up in Karachi whose pictures were shared by journalists including those who were found campaigning for the self-exiled politician’s return to national politics.
Analysts questioned the elements behind the entire campaign to bring Hussain back to national politics when the country is preparing to enter general elections.