Muttahida Qaumi Movement – London
Political party in Pakistan / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) (Urdu: متحدہ قومی موومنٹ, Muttaḥidah Qọ̄mī Mūwmaṅṫ), previously known as Muhajir Qaumi Movement, is a secular political party in Pakistan that was founded by Altaf Hussain in 1984.[5][6] Currently the party is split between 2 main factions. MQM-London faction is controlled by Altaf Hussain from London, while MQM-Pakistan is run by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui based in Pakistan. Its electoral symbol was a kite.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement متحدہ قومی موومنٹ | |
---|---|
Leader | Altaf Hussain |
Spokesperson | Aftab Baqai[1] |
Convener | Mustafa Azizabadi[1] |
Founder | Altaf Hussain |
Founded | 18 March 1984 (1984-03-18) |
Preceded by | Muhajir Qaumi Movement |
Headquarters | Edgware, London, United Kingdom. Nine Zero, Karachi (former/demolished in 2016) |
Student wing | All Pakistan Muttahidda Students Organization (APMSO) |
Ideology | Liberalism[2] Social liberalism Muhajir nationalism[3][4] Secularism[5][6] |
Political position | Centre |
Colors | Red, green and white |
Slogan | Empowering People |
Party flag | |
Website | |
www | |
It was founded as a student organization, All Pakistan Muhajir Student Organization (APMSO), in 1978 by Altaf Hussain. APMSO gave birth to the Muhajir Qaumi Movement in 1984. In 1997, the MQM removed the term Muhajir (which denoted the party's roots among the country's Urdu-speaking community) from its name and replaced it with Muttahida ("United"). The MQM is generally known as a party that once held strong mobilizing potential in Karachi, having traditionally been the dominant political force in the city.[7][8]
The party has kept its influence over Pakistan's federal government as a key coalition partner since the late 1980s (1988–1990, 1990–1992, 2002–2007, 2008–2013).[9] However, in 2015, MQM parliamentarians resigned from the National Assembly, Senate and Provincial Assembly of Sindh in protest against a crackdown on party supporters.[10]
In August 2016, after Altaf Hussain's 22 August speech, there was military crackdown on the party. Nine Zero, the party headquarters in Karachi, was sealed, the party's leaders including Farooq Sattar were arrested, and most elected parliamentarians in the MQM were forced to disassociate themselves from Altaf Hussain. MQM terminated Farooq Sattar's party membership for party rules violations, and he then formed his own faction.[11]