KARACHI: A day after senior MQM leaders’ decision to run the party ‘only from Pakistan,’ Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Wednesday handed over party affairs to the Rabita (Coordination) Committee.
“I honour the statements made by MQM leader Farooq Sattar and other MQM members and as a party chief I hand over powers of re-organisation, decision making and policy making to the Rabita Committee,” Altaf said in a press release shared by MQM leader Wasay Jalil on Twitter.
“I will continue to focus on improving my health in line with the Coordination Committee’s suggestions,” he added.
Reiterating his apology for the uproar which his speech stoked, the MQM chief said, “Pakistan was, is and will always remain my country.” He further added he was undergoing severe mental stress as a result of a series of events and disturbing news.
Sattar Tuesday said “It is MQM Pakistan, so it should be operated from Pakistan,” he said.
In response to the MQM chief’s anti-Pakistan slogans, he said “If statements by Altaf Hussain are a result of mental stress, then that mental stress needs to be resolved first”.
He said the MQM “completely disowns” Hussain’s statements, accusing him of repeatedly embarrassing the party.